Romance and a Ravenclaw
by Of Misfits and Magicians
Summary: After three years abroad James Potter's sister returns to Hogwarts for an-, well, an interesting seventh year, to say the least. "Wait, so is he dead or not?"- "I kissed Lucius Malfoy" JP/LE SB/OC
1. Chapter 1

_The fact that a sharp stone dug into the muscle of her shoulder was blatantly ignored in favour of focusing on the hands holding her in place. Jane wasn't sure she would have done anything even if she could, however if anyone asked she would blame her compliance on the fact there really wasn't anywhere to move in the tiny broom closet. The sound of clomping boots passing the wooden door, that brushed her right arm in the small space, was enough to send her eyes to those of the male in front of her. Immediately her breath caught in her throat, his hands were warm on her sides through the light fabric of her blouse; her own hands were pressed against the shirt on his chest. It wasn't clear who moved first, or if they moved together, for their lips to meet in a soft peck. Once there was an inch between their lips one of his hands had moved to her cheek and this time he pressed his lips against hers, not that she was complaining in the slightest. She could feel his lips part and she pushed him to take control of the kiss, her tongue darting out before she nibbled his bottom lip. She could feel his breath hitch before he pushed back._

* * *

"Mistress," The small voice broke through the girl's sleep. "Mistress, it is time to get up. You must catch the train soon, mistress."

Jane held back the swears bubbling into her thoughts, she hated to disturb the peaceful house elves.

She sighed quietly blinking her sleep away and rolling over to face the female house elf. "Thank you, Nonna." She whispered, offering a small grin before sitting up and tilting her head to the side. She held up two fingers, smiling at the elf who moved forward to listen intently, "Mother is mistress, Nonna, I'm just Jane."

She lowered one finger and the elf nodded smiling, "Yes, Miss Jane."

Jane smiled and considered correcting her but instead moved along with the second topic, "Has my brother awoken?"

"No, Miss Jane." The elf answered, "Master James does not enjoy mornings."

"No one in this house does, Nonna." Jane shook her head groaning, she wasn't completely awake but she knew her brother, "I will see to it that he does not miss the train. Thank you, Nonna."

"Anything for the house of Potter, Miss Jane." The house elf replied before disappearing, most likely to fix something in another part of the house.

Jane stretched as she stood. She had not lied, mornings had never been kind. Her brother's room sat across the hall from her own, she walked the short distance and pushed the door open without knocking. "Wake up, James. It's morning." Her attempt at sounding cheery falling far flat.

A groan came from the mess of covers and Jane walked to the window, pulling open the blinds and groaning at the light. "That was ladylike." James muttered making Jane give a halfhearted laugh.

"Shut up, Jamesy. If I have to deal with this then so do you." She stated pulling his covers off the side of his bed, accidently pulling him with them.

"You've injured me! I cannot go, I have been gravely wounded." He cried.

Jane rolled her eyes and left his room once again, with a call over her shoulder, "Suffer through it, dear brother." She heard him call more claims of wounds after her as she closed the door to her own room, her trunk had been packed, courtesy of Nonna she assumed, she knew she hadn't packed it. Of course Nonna had been with the Potter twins for much to long to expect them to have anything done on time, Ravenclaw or not Jane Marie Potter was a procrastinator by nature. She stood in front of the vanity her mother had bought for her, she ran her fingers through her messy black hair before picking up a brush. Jane shared the same messy hair that ran strong through her family, once the mess was sufficiently untangled she braided it quickly. Only a few more hours before they were off to Hogwarts again. She dressed quickly, in simple muggle clothes, before pulling her trunk into the hall.  
This time instead of entering she just knocked loudly on her brother's door with a shout of it being time to leave. She could hear him race around his room and then his door slammed open,  
"I can't find my trunk." He exclaimed, looking wide-eyed to his sister for help. Jane gave him an exasperated look before pushing past him into his room, she paused in the middle to survey the mess he had made. James stood in the doorway and Jane turned, her arms crossed, her expression clearly stating that she couldn't believe him, she pointed to his bed and watched her brother's expression shift into a grin as he realized he had left it under his bed, again.

"I swear James, you would lose your head if it wasn't attached." Jane stated, shaking her head at her brother.

"You'd find it for me." James replied, grinning. Jane rolled her eyes at him, smiling, before going back to the hallway to push her trunk down the hall.

"Come on, stupid."

* * *

For the first time in three years Jane saw the tall castle of a school. She had spent said three years in a transfer program of sorts, and though she loved it she couldn't think of a better way to finish her schooling then to return to Hogwarts. A blonde head of hair caught her eye and a grin stretched on Jane's lips, Xenophilius Lovegood, her best friend.

"Xeno," she called, laughing as the woman beside him turned with him as if she had called both of their names.

"Jane," Xeno replied, returning her hug once she was close enough to wrap her arms around him, "I was worried the nargles would get to you. Do you still have the charm I gave you?"

"Of course, Xeno," Jane affirmed, pulling the little blue charm on it's chain from her chest, a few others had joined it in the last three years. "Oh! I almost forgot," she exclaimed before reaching into the bag at her side and pulling out two shining stones, she held one out to the two in front of her, "Dragon Stones, from the lost Kingdom of Atlantis is lore is to be believed."

"Thank you, Jane." Pandora's smile was brighter than Jane had seen for a while, she suspected it had something to do with the fact that the blonde woman's fingers were entwined with Xeno's. "We should head in with everyone else."

Pandora was the most level-headed of the three, though Jane was often loathe to admit it, and she was certainly right. Aside from the other stragglers they were close to the last ones outside as they finally made their way to the entrance of the school. Jane had met Pandora and Xenophilius during first year, she shared a room with Pandora as well as two others that Jane had managed to keep in relative contact with during her time away, and she had met Xeno while he searched for his shoes. The three Ravenclaws had bonded quickly and Jane had spent most of her free time with them, she suspected that might change now that the other two were clearly together, not that they would do anything. Jane knew they would never intentionally drive her away, but she also knew that relationships and friendships were never on par with each other, and she wanted to give them their space. Though of course, she would insist on being the Godmother to their future children.

Conversations flew about the Great Hall as Jane took her seat. She poked the book-y boy beside her and waited. Dante was the quiet sort, he had his reasons she knew, and always seemed to be thinking. When she had met him in her second year he had stood in stark contrast to Xeno who introduced them; Xenophilius was tall, pale, with white-blonde hair and silvery-grey eyes, Dante was almost the same height, his skin was dark, dark hair, and strange teal eyes.

Said strange teal-eyes lit up as he finally looked to the girl that sat patiently beside him, "Jane!" He grinned and wrapped an arm around her in a side hug, "When did you get back? Today, why am I asking."

"It's good to see you again, Dante," Jane replied leaning into him affectionately, "Did anything of value happen while I was away?"

"Well I finally made it to my first class on time."

"Hey!" Jane exclaimed, smacking her friend's arm, "I resent that!"

"Doesn't make it any less true," Dante shot back, "You sleep like someone gave you the draught of living death, or something."

"So what, you're jealous of my sleeping ability?"

"Yes, about as much as I'm jealous of Lily's shadow."

"Why, Dante, I didn't know you swung that way," Jane joked before-, "Hey! That's my brother you're talking about!"

"Are you saying he doesn't follow around a certain red-haired beauty like she harbors the means to defeat You-Know-Who?"

"Ah, well-... I-," Jane glared at him, "Admittedly he has a bit of a problem."

"Sure," Kai put in, sliding onto the bench across from the duo and beside Xenophilius, "A problem the size of Malfoy's ego."

"Kai! Manners," Jane exclaimed with a pointed look.

"Oh, of course," Kai replied, a sly smirk settling on his features, "'ello, Jane. Welcome back, you look ravishing, in fact I was wondering; have you survived the Avada Kedavra curse? Because you are drop-dead gorgeous."

"You must be a horcrux," Jane spoke grinning, "Because you complete me."

"If I were to look into the Mirror of Eriseid I would see us together."

"Your smile is like Expelliarmus, simple but disarming."

"My name may not be Xenophilius, but I sure know how to Lovegood."

Three years and the easy back-an-forth with her friends was certainly what Jane had missed most. "Is that a wand in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

"Did you spike my drink with Skele-Gro potion? Because I think I'm growing a -"

"Alright!" Pandora interrupted, "That's enough from the two of you."

Taking in the reactions around the table Jane had to stifle a laugh while Kai simply looked proud of himself, Pandora had her 'why-do-I-deal-with-you' face on, Xeno was characteristically distracted by something no one else could see, Dante was proving that it was very possible for a blush to overpower his dark complexion, and Lily, who had just arrived, looked slightly bothered but moreover used to it.

"Dinner hasn't even finished," Lily pointed out, shaking her head at them before sitting on Jane's other side.

"Lily, darling, if you wanted to join Jane and I, you could've just said so." Kai's words earned him a smack from the Gryffindor.

"Honestly, Kai, I don't know how anyone stands you," Lily shot back, her smile and the blatant warmth in her words cancelling out any venom the words might have held.

"A Slitherin and a Gryffindor surronded by Ravenclaws," Xeno murmured, his eyes lighting up but not looking at anyone in particular, "This reminds me of a dream I had twice. We're just missing the Hufflepuff."

* * *

Hours later Jane laid with her head on Xenophilius' lap, he had said something about making sure she was free of some certain type of invisible magical creature that was indigenous to the area she had been transferred to. They had been trading stories quietly, Xeno was finishing telling the one about how he had met Pandora, and sneaky Mulliols.  
The others had branched off a while after leaving the Great Hall, Lily had booked it when she spotted James ("he's my brother!" "Doesn't make him any less of a filthy toe-rag." "My _brother_.") looking for her, which of course only led to James leaving his own table to follow her, Kai had left when James was approaching their table ("You do understand that he hates me, correct?" "Kai, he doesn't hate you, he just—," "Hates him on basis that he's a Slitherin?"), Dante had gone to speak with Remus as they shared a certain affliction, and Pandora was likely in the library, but Jane couldn't say for certain.

"You couldn't tell she fancied you? Honestly, Xeno," Jane laughed, earning a light swat on the forehead.

"It wasn't as if it were obvious," Xeno countered, to which Jane scoffed.

"She kissed you."

"You kiss me."

"On the cheek or the forehead, and it's completely platonic," Jane pointed out.

"Regulus kissed you once, and you're not even friends with him."

"And we agreed to _never_ speak of it again!"

"You kissed Lu—"

"The _point_," Jane cut him off before he could bring up any of her other mistakes, "dear Xenophilius, is that Pandora obviously fancied you and you didn't have a clue 'til she told you and asked you out for a butterbeer."

Xeno seemed to ponder that for a moment, dazing off, before he spoke again, "Your turn."

"Anything in particular?"

There was another pause, "A story with your brother."

Jane almost laughed, she had plenty of those. But when the thunder cracked outside the window she could only think of one. "I used to be absolutely terrified of storms."

* * *

_It was during one of their parents' trips, Jane had insisted they go somewhere nice for their anniversary, Nonna would take care of them. Two days in a storm had come out of nowhere, the twins had been playing outside before the thunder sounded and suddenly they were soaked, they sky was dark, the rain was heavy and a bolt of lightning, though far off, made Jane scream. Nonna had ushered them inside and being the eight-year-olds it was expected that they would bolt into their room. At the time they had shared a room, two beds, two dressers, enough space to give them their comfort while still being near enough to each other._

_This time Jane had gone straight to her brother's bed, grabbing a pillow and putting her back to the corner. Jumping at the slightest sound and shaking like a leaf caught in a wind storm. James had sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "It's okay Janey, it's just a storm."_

_"Monsters!" Jane had shouted, eyes glued on the scary shapes the shadows left on the carpet and walls._

_"It's okay, Janey!" James had insisted, "I'll protect you!"_

_"But—ack!" A thunder clap and a lightning strike had Jane hiding under a blanket._

_"Hey, Janey," James had prodded, waiting for his sister to look up at him before he held out a bracelet made of string, tying it on her wrist, "It's a magic bracelet, it'll protect you from the monsters." _

_Jane had looked at him with uncertainty, she was never one to believe someone easily… _

_"I promise," James added with a sincere smile, hugging his sister tightly._

_Unless that someone was her brother._

* * *

"Now I'm only slightly terrified of storms," Jane concluded, swallowing a knot in her throat and biting her lip when the thunder sounded again.

**someone informed me that the oc submissions were against the rules so here's the first chapter, i would still like to accept oc's but you'll have to pm me so i can tell you what information i need. thank you for reading :)**

**Sirius is in the next chapter, I really hope you like the sibling fluff as much as I liked writing it**


	2. Chapter 2

_Jane's grasp on her quill tightened, she just wished he would shut up. She shook her head, lifting her gaze to copy down the lines, instead her eyes caught a familiar pair of concerned dark green eyes. Jane bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, she hated lying to the first person she had befriended here. James had always been quicker to make friends. Gods, everything was reminding her of her damn brother. _Yeah, _a stupid part of her brain reminded her_,the same brother that would be disgusted to be related to you. _She was never going to get a break was she?_

* * *

The hallways were bustling, but Jane had found solace in one of the many hideaways. This one was just a few twists and turns from the Quidditch Field, and large enough for quite a few people to sprawl comfortabley. And quite a few people there were.

Lily had been insistent that they have a bit of girls' time after the long summer apart and promptly gathered the others. Jane sat with her feet curled beneath her and her back pressed against the cold stone wall. Pandora had been otherwise occupied but the rest were there.  
The stunning Marlene sat beside Jane, her legs stretched, and her tanned skin glowing, she had half the male population practically begging for a chance, but she always valued a good friendship before any relationship. Hestia Jones was at Jane's side, a sweet, sharp, loyal friend, who could have her pick of the boys, but would rather more feminine company; a fact that the blonde beauty that held her heart could attest to. Said blonde beauty had her arms wrapped around her girlfriend with her eyes closed, likely resting but possibly sleeping; Emmeline Vance was a force to be reckoned with.  
Across the little hideaway both Alice Prewett and Dorcas Meadowes held books, though the former hadn't gotten to read hers yet and just held it, the latter hadn't taken her eyes off the pages for more than a quiet 'hello' since she entered the enclave. Alice was a small pixie of a girl, her hair was cut short, and she was likely the most adorable person Jane had ever met, a fact her boyfriend of four years, Frank Longbottom, would likely agree with. Dorcas was one of the quietest people Jane had met, she was respectful, gentle, and often struggled with being honest as she never wanted to upset someone.  
Kennedy Grace Lewis sat with her knees up and her attention solely on the strange muggle device her older brother had acquired for her. Jane was actually a bit surprised by her attendance, it wasn't that she didn't like Kennedy, like most everyone else they were on respectful terms, but Kennedy often reminded them that she didn't always feel the need to be around people. It likely didn't help that she had a naturally intimidating appearance, she was tall, with sharp features, and maintained many peculiar muggle-like habits; her naturally black hair was often dyed red near the bottom, and her nails were black, of course many assumed these were just spells (Jane had eventually gotten tired of guessing and simply asked why, she found out Kennedy used a muggle 'nail-polish' that coloured them).  
Last but never the least was the Golden Girl of Gryffindor, the currently absent Lily Evans. And as if on cue, she finally stormed in.

"I have absolutely had it with that arrogant toe-rag, I swear he spends all his free time just winding me up," Lily had to take a breath before she continued, and the rest shared a collective sigh, they all knew who she was talking about, "Do you know what I caught him doing now? Do you?"

"Obviously not or someone might've stopped him," Kennedy muttered, Jane gave a quiet chuckle.

"What has he done now, Dear?" Hestia questioned, leaning her head back. Someone had to ask, to at least provide _movement_ in Lily's latest rant about Jane's brother.

"He was terrorizing the first years! Telling them about monsters lurking under their beds, and how Gargoyles were always watching and ready to pounce as soon as they stepped out of line—"

"Well if that were true it'd be a shock that none had gotten to him," Emmeline put in drowsily.

The interruption did nothing to deter Lily as she paced the small area, "—told the muggleborns that they had to prove themselves by fighting a dragon, said the purebloods were basically an addiction for the vampires so they'd better watch out, then said to the half-bloods that they were actually only half-there –don't you laugh Jane!—and the other half of their existence would eventually grab hold of them and pull them through to some mysterious 'other side'. He acted like they were all going to die at a moment's notice and not a damned one of them thought to ask how anyone made it to their second year!" She let out a huff and directed a pleading look to Jane who instantly put her hands up,

"I am _not_ my brothers keeper," Jane stated with a shake of her head.

"But Jane, he was being a complete arse, such an arrogant, good for nothing idiot—"

"Friendly reminder that he _is_ still my brother."

"and he was being completely hypocritical, he was practically wetting his pants on his first day. And what can I possibly do? You know he doesn't listen to me. He's in his domain now. As far as anyone else is concerned he and the others are practically kings in their castle."

"Lily, have you gone mental? He listens to you, he practically kisses the ground you walk on," Kennedy commented, her attention not leaving her music-device as she rolled her eyes.

"But he listens to Jane more," Lily insisted, leading to Hestia and Alice looking her way, their compassionate sides making them agree.

"We were complete wreaks our first year," Hestia pointed out.

Alice quickly adding, "Just imagine how those poor children are feeling."

"You're his sister, he listens to you more than anyone else."

"Unless you count Black," Jane snapped, quickly biting her lip. She hadn't meant for that to come out but… "Sure, once he listened to me, but the second Black is in around everyone else is just extra. If he was going to listen to anyone it would be Black, but knowing him the boy's probably just encouraging it."

"I didn't mean to…" Lily trailed off.

Jane sighed and gave her a reassuring smile, her friends knew she would go to the ends of the earth for her brother, but once he met Sirius Black… "I know you didn't, Lils. I'm sorry for snapping at you. Besides it all, as Hestia said, we were all terrible wreaks our first year, I'm sure once they're settled they'll be fine."

"Come on, Lily," Hestia added, "It'll be alright, just sit down. You are the one that wanted 'girl time'."

With a sigh Lily nodded, smiling as she finally sat with her friends.

"Right, now let's talk about something important," Marlene stated, having ended her uncharacteristically long silence, a sly smirk settling on her features, "I heard, from a _very_ reliable source, that our darling Dorcus was rather _close_ with some tall, dark, male, this summer."

The flutter of slowly turning pages ceased and Marlene's pale features were quick to rival the red of a tomato. "It wasn't—" she started, "I didn't—um, there wasn't, he—oh dear…"

"Oh leave her alone, Marley," Emmeline scoffed, "She deserves to have some fun."

"And it's quite obvious who you're having _fun_ with, Emmy," Marlene replied, giving a suggestive look to the couple, "Did you two really go—"

"Let's not talk about that!" Hestia suggested, rather abruptly, "And everyone knows Alice is in love with Frank, so moving on. Jane?"

"Oh, yeah," Marlene turned her matchmaking attention onto the girl who had been abroad, "How were the _boys_ at this Mariland?"

"Or the girls," Emmeline added.

Jane rolled her eyes and failed to hide the blush that crept up her cheeks, "Simply put it's likely I had more fun than Marlene around Valentine's Day." A little voice in the back of her mind hissed at her, _liar, liar, it wasn't all fun._ She promptly told that voice to sod off.

A deep whistle overpowered even Marlene's cheers and the attention of the girls was snagged by a much taller, much more muscular, and much more attractive version of the Sirius Black that Jane remembered, and she would deny it if anyone mentioned that her eyes may have stayed on said muscles a tad bit longer than necessary. "Well don't let Prongs hear that," Sirius commented raising an eyebrow at Jane before winking, she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Black?"

"Three years and that's all you have to say to your brother's best mate?"

"Well it was that or something that Dorcus would likely smack me for."

"Ouch," Sirius replied, feigning hurt, before letting his smirk return, "And for the reason I'm here, your brother wanted to find his darling, _Lily-Petal , _and I assumed she would be here with the rest of you." He seemed to consider his words for a second before continuing, "Of course, now I'm faced with going to tell him I found her with the knowledge you'll likely all leave, or staying here until he comes around."

"Well," Jane began, standing up and grabbing her bag, "As much fun as this all seems to be, I'm going to get going. There's a Slytherin I have to find."

"Tutoring again?" Lily asked, grinning cheekily, something Marlene quickly caught.

"Why _Jane_," Marlene started, "You could have told us you were going to _tutor _someone today."

"Oh," Emmeline exclaimed, understanding the underlying meaning in Marley's words, "So you didn't leave all the action in Mariland—"

"That's enough out of you three," Hestia interrupted, shaking her head and offering Jane a smile, "Just get out of here before the innuendos get worse."

Jane nodded her thanks and stepped out of the hideaway.

Sirius left shortly after Jane, figuring it would be more fun to bother his mate's sister. He had to admit she had changed a lot in three years, in fact if she wasn't Prongs' sister she would likely be his next target. She had grown, and not just taller, when they were younger Jane and James could've been mistaken for each other, but James _did not_ have curves like that. She was keeping her hair in a braid now, when they were younger she couldn't care how messy it was. But it wasn't just her looks that had changed, he used to have to work to get a rise out of her, but now her temper was quick. Before she had always been, well not quiet but, not as outspoken as she seemed to be now, she was respectful, and always there to get James out of trouble, even if she got herself in trouble in the process. He knew she had kept in contact with her brother over the years, and gone home for holidays, but Sirius had never seen her while he was at the Potter's house.

Sirius didn't even notice he had been following Jane until he turned a corner to see Jane with her arms crossed and her foot tapping.

She didn't say anything, but her eyebrows lifted behind her glasses (her glasses hadn't changed, still the same bottle-cap circles she and James had always had). "Fancy meeting you here," Sirius greeted.

"Fancy," Jane repeated with a scoff and an eyeroll, "You're not exactly _sneaky_, Black. What do you want?"

"What makes you think I wasn't just headed in the same direction?"

"This hallway's a dead-end."

Sirius looked over her head in confusion but sure enough the hallway ended with a stone wall, not even a window. "Huh, that's new."

"Honestly, Sirius—"

"Padfoot!"

Sirius grinned and turned to see Prongs, Moony, and Wormtail heading towards them, but his eyes flickered back to Jane in confusion, he could've sworn he saw her flinch.

"We've been lookin' for you, gonna get a headstart on pranking the professors," James greeted before turning to see who Sirius had been talking to, "Hey, Jane. Sirius are you coming?"

Sirius nodded, sending another confused look over his shoulder to where Jane stood, once James turned away she closed her eyes and clenched her jaw.

**well that was quick, the updates will probably be slow but i usually write faster while i'm starting a story so i can't tell you when the updates are going to slow down or how long they'll take.  
****Dante is Demonfox25's oc  
Kai is from Yamibakura098**  
**And Kennedy is from scrapmetalandflannels  
The rest are actually canon characters that I'm just interperting**  
**Yamibakura098: I meant to include the Kai/James confrontation in this chapter but got distracted, hopefully next chapter, just means i get to write them flirting more**


	3. Chapter 3

_The classes always seemed longer now. Probably because she didn't have anyone to distract her…_

Contrary to popular belief, the Ravenclaw common room is almost the furthest from tidy. The room itself is almost regal looking, the ceilings are high, white walls end at a gold trim that leads to a mural of the night sky, bookshelves stretching higher than even the ladder attached can reach (a plus to magic is having more space for books), beautiful, tall, arched windows, along with a single extra-long blue couch, armchairs near the windows, each with a side table, a white piano, and circular tables, each with for blue and gold chairs. Along with all the pictures, tapestries and other trinkets to emphasize their house pride, including, of course, an intricate and detailed statue of Lady Rowena Ravenclaw herself.  
However within a few days of the last tidying; books, papers, quills, glasses, scriptures, and the odd wand or two, are strewn about the room. Amidst the mess it's common to find the odd Ravenclaw, asleep, be it the wee hours of the morning, the late hours of night, or when the sun is bright in the sky.  
Jane's sleeping form was curled into the soft cushion of one of the blue and silver regal-looking reading chairs, a now cold cup of hot chocolate on a place holder on the wooden side table beside her, and a book in her lap. Her glasses had slid off at some point and her hair was a mess. This is likely how Xenophilius found her the morning classes started.

"G'mornin'," Jane mumbled tiredly, blinking multiple times before she could confirm that it was Xeno sitting beside her and staring distractedly at something or other. "Have we missed many classes yet?"

"Hm," Xeno gave her a wistful smile, "No, we're the only ones awake, aside from the Nifflers, but they're not allowed inside the school."

"I haven't seen them since I've gotten back," the girl realized quietly, "I suppose a visit to Hagrid's is a bit overdue as well. I think I may go tonight, would you like to join me?"

"Tonight won't serve as a good time for visiting," the pale boy informed her in his all-knowing way that brought a small smile to Jane's face despite her concern.

"No?"

"Hm?"

Sometimes Jane wondered if even Xenophilius knew what he himself had said. She shook her head and stood, leaning up to stretch, "I'll be right back down and then we can go to breakfast." He nodded in reply having already picked up her discarded book.

True to her word Jane changed out of her slept-in clothes quickly, quietly as well to ensure she didn't wake her sleeping roommates, and was back down stairs in minutes.

"Jane?"

"Yes, Xeno?"

"I think I may publish a magazine."

Jane looked at her friend with curiosity, as always he retained a faraway look in his eyes but he was smiling, "Like 'The Prophet'?"

"No, no," Xeno corrected, shaking his head, "I'd prefer to write something more truthful."

The raven-haired girl laughed lightly, she should have known, "And what would you call it?"

"I'm not sure yet," Xeno conceded, "I may need help working out the details."

"What about 'Quibbler'? You'll be arguing and contradicting many things, it's rather fitting."

"That sounds silly," the blonde stated, his small smile growing wider, "What about Nargles Experience?"

"No." Jane shook her head vehemently, "If you name it that I will disown you as a friend, and as the future Godmother of your children."

"I don't remember asking you to be the Godmother of my future children," Xenophilius stated in a dreamy tone, his head tilted to the side and his eyes glowing as if he could just see it, "Though I do believe it would be nice. To have a family."

Jane didn't get a chance to comment as another joined the pair, "Children? Xeno-Son-of-a-God, did you get Pandora pregnant already?"

"Son of God… , is that what –filius means in Latin?" Xeno wondered.

"Can I be the Godfather?" Kai questioned with a grin, hooking his arm around Jane's.

"Of course," Jane replied in place of Xeno, "After all by that point we'll be married, so it would only make sense."

"Of course," Kai parroted, "The wedding will be in spring, on an island."

Jane grinned and pecked her friend on the cheek, "How are you this morning, Hatoshi?"

"Bloody fantastic," Kai replied sarcastically, "That's why I'm awake at this god-awful hour."

"What's keeping you up?"

"Same thing as always," Kai murmured, quickly clearing his throat and tugging at his hood to keep it over his head, "The beds are just too damn soft."

Jane gave him a last inquisitive glance before she let it drop, conveniently at the time they entered the Grand Hall.

It wasn't evident to Jane how much she had missed Hogwarts until she was back in the classrooms. Perhaps they were the same subjects, but learning the same things anywhere else hadn't felt right. Arithmacy was her first class of the day, and she had been happily greeted by the same professor that had taught her before she left, Septima Vector. A strict witch, but to those that _followed_ her rules, she could be quiet kind. Of course, anything to do with the _other_ Potter seemed to put her in a bad mood, Jane made a note to find out just what her brother had been up to.

Her Potions class was of course where things always got interesting, this year her class of Ravenclaws had been paired up with a handful of Gryffindors including; James, Remus, Peter, Sirius, Lily, and Kennedy.

None had gotten ten steps into the room before Slughorn spoke, "Ah, I'm afraid that due to a few _events_," no one missed that he looked directly at the self named Marauders, "We will have to have a bit of a 'seating plan'. Now just wait until you hear your name, and sit with your partner. There will be no switching, or trading, now, alright?"

It really wasn't a question but Jane nodded with multiple other Ravenclaws even so, and waited as he began spouting names. Slowly but surely the method of aversion chosen gave Jane the subtle hint that Professor Slughorn had no idea what he was doing. Dante had been paired with Remus, which really wasn't that bad, Peter with Dorcus, _poor girl_ Jane winced with the knowledge of her quiet friend's dislike of the boy, Kennedy and Pandora, Emmeline and Marlene, _was he trying to start a war?, _James and Lily, _the answer is yes_. And last but hardly least, Sirius and Jane.

However, aside from the seating plan the class was normal, excluding Sirius and James yelling at each other across the room—no, that was actually normal as well.

D.A.D.A, Transfiguration, Art, Muggle Studies, Divination, her intense lack of skill had convinced Jane to drop Charms, Flitwick had been quick to reassure her it was alright by him. The rest of her day had gone by quickly, before she knew it she was wandering the halls of the castle with her nose in a book.

"Run!"

A strange mixture of swears greeted Jane after the slightly muffled instruction as four familiar boys rounded a corner straight into her. She took them each in quickly, Peter looked like he was having a ball, Remus looked like he was suddenly regretted a multitude of choices, Sirius looked confident, and her brother looked guilty.

With a sigh she shook her head and spoke, stepping out of the way, "This hallway ends to the right, the left will likely lead you to the Slytherin Common Room, unless you take the first set of stairs, then split up, go through different corridors."

"And you're just going to stand here and get blamed for it?" Remus questioned, letting Sirius and James grab her wrists, and then the five were running again. Jane led them through the motions, up the stairs, and shit—she hadn't accounted for five people, there were four corridors, but the others had continued without a thought. Hearing whoever they had pissed off following them up the stairs Jane muttered curses under her breath and dashed down the hall to her right, she knew her steps were likely overheard by whoever led the pursuit.

"Sirius," she called, recognizing the tall, shaggy haired, boy in front of her. He stopped fast enough for her to catch up to him within a few steps, of course the one time she needed a door, or anything to hide behind, the hall was empty. Her eyes landed back on Sirius and she swore, "If you ever speak of this I will end you."

He didn't have enough time to ask what 'this' was before it became very clear. Jane pressed her lips to his, her hands on his shoulders pushing him back to the wall, he reacted almost on reflex, moving his lips against her and letting his hands fall to her hips. She tugged lightly on his lip with her teeth and was quickly met by a low sound from Sirius' throat, one hand remained on his shoulder as the other moved to allow them closer, deepening the kiss. In the background Jane registered the sound of passersby slowing from their jog before speeding up enough to quickly exit the hallway.

The second their steps faded she stepped back, adjusting her shirt and fixing her hair, the only proof of any kiss was the state of Sirius' appearance, but no one would think twice of that, it wasn't exactly new.

"Have a nice evening, Black," she stated, lifting her hand in a goodbye and intending to return the way she had come. A hand on her arm stopped her, and she turned to see Sirius' confident smirk.

"I've been told it's rude to snog-and-run," he informed her.

Jane rolled her eyes and informed him of her reasoning, "It was barely a snog, Black, public displays of affection make people uncomfortable, it was an aversion method. We wouldn't have been able to out-run them." She would have continued, if it wasn't for a pair of lips stopping her, Sirius initiated the kiss this time and though she wasn't necessarily against it, she didn't like having her back to the wall. She never removed her lips as she stepped forward, unbalancing the taller of the pair enough to swing them around, she flicked her tongue out in victory, utterly surprised when he took the chance to nip at it. A scoff escaped her mouth before she pressed her lips against the side of his mouth, moving down his jaw, she nipped right back and this time Sirius let out a huff. His hand moved to her chin, leading her lips back to his and taking control of the kiss, Jane gave half a laugh, the other half taken by Sirius, she suspected he wasn't very used to this. Not the snogging, she was well aware he had quite a bit of experience in that department, but Jane was never one to simply let someone kiss her, there was always a fight for dominance.  
Her attention snapped back into focus, as a warm hand brushed over the scar on her shoulder. She stepped back again, "If I'm not mistaken, my dear brother is likely concocting some not thought out plan to rescue you from whoever was chasing you all."

"You know, Love, most girls I snog don't mention their brothers right after," Sirius noted, "Or at all."

"Most girls aren't your best mate's sister," Jane countered, with a nod of her head she turned around again, calling over her shoulder before she rounded the corner, "And let's not forget I kissed you first."

She could have sworn she heard him mutter something along the lines of, 'that you did'.

_"Hey."_

_Jane rolled her eyes and continued practicing._

_"Hey," this time he kicked her chair, "Hey, Potter." She huffed to avoid laughing. "Poootter~" He practically sang it, "Otter Pot. Jane. Jane. Janey."_

_Finally__ she turned in her seat abruptly, "What?"_

_"We should kiss more," he replied, cheeky grin and all._

_Jane would love to say she leveled him with a glare... but her attempted glare was very far off target and she broke into a smile. "Honestly, George, why do I put up with you?"_

_"Because then -and these are your own words- you don't have to deal with making friends."_

_"I did not say that!"_

_"Okay maybe not exactly that," George admitted, "But something along those lines." Jane scoffed and his grin returned in full force, "Come on, Janey! Let's do something fun!"_

_"This is-" Jane started, George quickly cutting her off,_

_"Not fun, don't you dare say this is fun. You're literally watching a tree grow, Potter."_

_"Fine." She finally conceded, "What did you have in mind?"_

_His grin spread from ear-to-ear, "This is going to be fan-tas-tic!"_

Jane bolted up breathless, the nightmares were back and- oh god, she dashed to the bathroom before her stomach emptied itself on the floor.

**well look at this mess, i had a fantastic three chapters finished and they are gone so this is what i have for you, i might put in a filler for the next chapter, or just jump right into everything, or have a little side arc, i dont know**

**thoughts?**


	4. Chapter 4

_"Honestly, George, you are insufferable."_

_"Then why are you smiling," the black haired boy challenged with a teasing poke to her stomach._

_"Because I'm laughing at you."_

_"Uh-huh."_

_"Oh can it, you," Jane grumbled almost slamming the tea cup back onto the table, "This is pointless! It's just tea remnants. What is it going to tell me?"_

_"Raven, you're thinking too much—"_

_"That is what I do," she pointed out, grumbling._

_George swatted her hand and huffed, "Well, stop."_

_"I can't just—"_

_"Jane Harriet Potter!" Jane glared but quietened, George sighed and continued, "Breathe, Raven, in through your nose out through your mouth, close your eyes." Jane followed the instructions she was given and she felt an arm wrap around her waist as George moved to sit right beside her, "Now open your eyes." _

_Once again Jane was looking at the leaves in her teacup, but this time she could actually see the little picture, "Oh my god, this is –" Jane shook her head and looked to George, "How did you do that?"_

_"I didn't do anything," George insisted, he kissed her cheek quickly before whispering, "You're worth more than you think, Jane."_

When her eyes opened she was in a state of confusion, teal eyes and dark skin replaced the image of a pale green-eyed boy. She blinked, and blinked again, before her mind registered what had happened, she sat up quickly, _too_ quickly. Her vision spun and her stomach churned, but it was gone as quick as it had come.

"Dante," Jane shook her head, forcing a smile and noticing they were in a different part of the common room, "I'm sorry, where were we?"

"Perhaps you should go to the nurse," Dante suggested, a worried look in his eyes.

Jane shook her head, glad they were alone, "No, it's quite alright."

"You fainted, Jane."

"Right," Jane nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat, "It must be almost dinner, we should find the others."

"The others already ate, dinner ended a good ten minutes ago," the dark-haired boy pointed out.

She met his eyes in surprise, it had been almost an hour before dinner when she had blacked out, usually the memories only lasted a few minutes. She stood and nodded again, "It's probably nothing, I haven't been getting much sleep. I'll go rest, get something to eat."

As she headed up the stairs Dante couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something. After all, sixteen years of hiding a secret of his own he had gotten quite good at being able to tell when someone wasn't telling the whole truth. But he couldn't very well force her to tell him so, for now at least, he let it drop. Following her advice Dante finally left the common room, heading towards the kitchen, he could have simply called for help, brought her to the nurse himself, or any number of other options. But if he had been in her situation, if it had been a full moon, he would never want attention called to the situation. They had kept in touch for the past three years, letters, visits, they had drifted slightly apart, but he figured it was the same for most of the people she had kept in contact with. Now, even as they had become close friends again during the past week, she always seemed to have some invisible wall up, it was almost impossible to tell. She hadn't changed much, but there was just _something_.

"Eep!"

Dante scrambled to his feet, he had been so far into his thoughts he hadn't seen the other person until they had walked right into each other, "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," Dante's eyes snapped to the girl he had accidently knocked over, Dorcus, she gave him a small smile, her voice was quiet, "I wasn't looking where I was going."

He ducked his head, quickly grabbing one of her books from the ground to hand it back to her, "To Kill A Mockingbird."

"Pardon?"

Dante could feel heat rushing to his face and he coughed, "To Kill A Mockingbird, it's a muggle novel my sister lent me once, if you like these types of books you'd likely like it too."

"Oh," Dante could hear Dorcus clear her throat, he bit his lip, she probably thought he was silly reading muggle novels, "Ah, would you happen to…" When Dante looked up Dorcus met his eyes for a fraction of a second before her gaze was on the floor once more, "I mean, if it wouldn't be a trouble, could I perhaps borrow it?"

"Ah—"

"I don't mean to overstep, if it's your sister's then, really –"

"Alright." Dante agreed, licking his lips and clearing his throat again, "In fact I was just going to see if I could nab some food from the kitchens, I missed dinner, but I could grab it for you after?"

"That would be wonderful," Dorcus nodded, a blush slowly forming on her cheeks, "Thank you."

"Alright—I mean, you're welcome." Dante nodded, unsure of what to do he began walking again, stopping when he heard her call,

"Would you like some company?" Dante turned and Dorcus held her books tightly against her chest, she gave him a small smile, "I know I hate to eat alone."

It was Dante's turn to smile, he nodded, "Yes, thank you that would be lovely."

Jane had debated going to bed, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, so with the knowledge she had lied to her friend she followed the path to Hagrid's. She could see him working in his garden long before she reached the hut and with a smile she quickly changed directions.

"Good evening, Hagrid," she called, lifting her hand to wave.

"Ah! Jane, jus' the person I wan'ed 'a see. 'Em damn niffles' been diggin' up ma garden again!"

Jane laughed lightly and kneeled on the soft soil, "Of course they have, they think you're hiding gold, not planting potatoes."

"Well they can scram then, 'cause I don' go' 'nything other than the 'taters here," Hagrid grumbled, "Bu' if ya give me a mo I can get ya some tea. 'm sure you came down for something more than talk about plantin'."

"Ever perceptive, Hagrid," the young witch replied, she gave a soft smile to one of the fluffy creatures scampering about, "I came across some strange things while I was away."

She accepted the half-giants offered hand and followed him into the little hut. While he went to fetch the tea she crossed the room to the little cages, lifting one of the creatures from its enclosure and bringing it to the sofa where she sat and set it on her lap.

"I don' know how you ge' those damn things ta calm down like that, Jane," Hagrid mentioned, setting a cup on the table beside her, "Bu' I 'preciate it."

Jane stroked the little beast, it was somewhat a cross between a Nargle and a Niffler, "They didn't choose the life they were given," she lifted her head to meet Hagrid's eyes in understanding, "But they deal with it the same as any of us."

"You were always wise fer yer age," Hagrid sipped his own tea, "bu' it don' take a wizar' ta know somethin' happen to ye out there." Jane didn't reply, it hadn't been a question, she let her attention go back to the creature on her lap, resting her palm on its head to calm its shaking. It was too bad she didn't have someone to calm her own nerves, the tea helped. "Yer gonna do wha's best, Miss Potter, I know tha'. Bu' if ye ever need someone ta talk to, ye got friends. Lots o' them, you know people care 'bout you, right Jane?"

She nodded, more to appease her friend than in the sense she completely believed him, and she knew he could tell but he smiled anyway and they continued with their usual chatter. She gave him a few tips for his garden, he gave her a few hints for charms and arithmacy.

Eventually the sky began to darken and she headed back to the castle with a promise of visiting again soon. She didn't get far when a figure caught her eyes. It wasn't that someone else was out after curfew, or even that she recognized him quickly, it wasn't that he was a Slytherin, or that he didn't have his robe with him and he seemed to be freezing, the only thing that really caught Jane's attention was the Threstral that he was feeding.

"Severus?"

At the sound he spun around, wand at the ready, and Jane's empty hands flew up to show him she meant no harm. When he began to slowly lower his wand she took cautious steps forward, pure curiosity colouring her expression. He watched her approach in silence, only speaking once she was relatively close. Well, snapping, might be more accurate. "What do you want?"

"World peace," Jane joked lightly, not even sure why she had called his name, "A chocolate bar? A nicer brother?" Severus snorted at this, before quickly recomposing himself.

"Are you gonna make fun of me for talking to myself?"

"Why would I do that?"

Snape sneered as if on instinct, "Because you're a _Potter_."

"And you're a Slytherin," Jane retorted, not a drop of venom in her words. "No one is simply one thing." She tilted her head to the side and turned her gaze to the winged-creature behind the boy, "And it would be rather silly to make fun of someone for talking to themself, if they were in fact not."

The pale, black-haired, Slytherin's glare took a small light of confusion before he followed her line of sight to the Threstrals. When he looked back to her it was in a mix of surprise and wonder, "I'm not the only one who can see them?"

Jane held back a laugh, settling for a kind smile as she walked towards the creature, slowing when she saw the boy tense, she didn't say anything until she could rest her hand on the Threstrals nose. "Far from it," she whispered, turning to make eye contact that Severus quickly averted, "Threstals can only be seen by those that have witnessed death."

At that his eyes snapped to hers, accusing yet curious. Jane watched quietly until he decided which emotion to act on, it seemed like a mixture of both, "You've seen someone die."

"So have you," Jane replied, not offering up anything more.

"Who was it?"

The Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow, "If you so obviously don't trust me, why would I trust you?"

Finally a small smile crept onto Severus' lips, "So Ravenclaws _are_ actually smart."

"And Slytherins are prideful," Jane noted, her thoughts clicking into place, "Which means if you were to tell me, and I you, neither of us would share the information."

Severus's expression curled into a scowl, significantly less fearsome than the prior ones, "And why would I tell you?"

"Because witnessing death isn't something you can shoulder alone," Jane informed him, her voice hardly louder than a whisper, _I can't shoulder it alone. _

The boy in front of her was silent for some time, Jane couldn't help but wonder if he would simply walk away. Her throat clenched, even now he could tell someone that she had seen someone die, and as always the information would make it's way to James. Severus cleared his throat, nodding, "okay."

**this chapter is short but i hope you liked it!**


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't believe I'm actually playing this," Jane grumbled, leaning her head back to the marble wall.

"Jane, come on," Lily insisted, a big smile on her face, "It's a muggle way to get to know you're friends, I saw my sister playing it with her friends over the summer."

"You know how Lily feels about her relationship with her sister," Dorcus added much quieter, the words only heard by the female Potter, who let out an exasperated huff.

And Jane did know, having sat through multiple rants from Lily of how her sister had so many interesting things to do, how her sister was this and that and… Perhaps James' own rants about how annoying Lily's sister was affected her more. It was all too confusing, but she knew Lily didn't always feel that she could live up to her sister.

"Fine." She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees, "Oh, I don't know! What did you get on your N.E.W.T's?"

"Jane, that's so lame!" Emmeline accused giving her friend a glare, "Besides we already shared our test scores, which you would know if you weren't off in Merlin-knows-where."

"You ask a question then! There's no reason _I _have to start it off," Jane shot back, hitting Marlene's arm lightly.

"First kiss," Marlene announced, almost immediately a collective grumble from the girls sounded. "And just so we get started; James Potter, second year, after he helped beat the Slytherins in Quidditch."

"Marlene, why would you kiss that frog?" Lily exclaimed at the same time Jane threw her arms up in exasperation while shouting;

"My _brother_."

"Jane, we all know you're related," Hestia noted, lifting an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in her eye, "But you have to admit, he is quite fit."

"No. No," Jane repeated, waving her hand to emphasize her point, "My brother is nothing of the sort, as my _bloody_ _twin_, he is exempt from those terms. Next."

As she sat to Marlene's left Hestia spoke next, "Abigal Evenstar, third year, I was curious."

Next was Emmeline who coughed in surprise before admitting, "Oliver Evenstar, second year, I don't actually think I had a reason."

Then Alice, which everyone had guessed, "Frank Longbottom, third year, when he –"

"Asked you out, it was so romantic," the others (Dorcus and Kennedy exempt) chorused, "We know."

While a blush quickly covered Alice's face, a similar one coloured Dorcus', though likely for a different reason as she was next with a small mumble no one could really make out.

"Could you repeat that, Dor?"

"Dante, yesterday I kissed Dante."

Jane's drifting attention snapped to the book-y girl as a grin spread across her face, "Dorcus Meadowes!"

"That is adorabl—nice." Lily stated, correcting herself at the last second and sharing a knowing glance with Jane.

Marlene gave a low whistle, and Emmeline winked, "Way to go, Meadowes."

All the while Dorcus very obviously tried to hide behind her book before Alice took pity on her, "Alright, alright! That's enough. Kennedy?"

"Sirius Black, fourth year, he was cute."

Jane resisted the urge to roll her eyes, at least it wasn't her brother, though Lily's answer came as a shock, "Peter Pettigrew," she grumbled, "Third year, I wanted to prove a point to James."

Last was Jane and during her extended silence her friends raised eyebrows and gave pointed looks, she debated lying but… She groaned and covered her face with her hands, "Lucius Malfoy."

There was a pause after her answer.

A pause that seemed to last years

But was probably only a few seconds, before a collective, "What?"

"I'm sorry," Jane didn't raise her head as Lily spoke, "Can you say that again, because I could have sworn you said that you kissed _Malfoy_."

"Not just that," Hestia added, "He was your _first kiss?"_

"_Malfoy_?" Dorcus murmured, tilting her head to the side, "As in, well, _Malfoy_?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," Jane grumbled, "Now can we all move on please?"

"Was it good?"

"Marlene!"

"What," the girl in question shrugged, "I just want to know if the 'Prince of Slytherin' is as good of a snog as his girlfriend insists."

"She's not his girlfriend—" Jane muttered, quickly realizing that was really not what she should have said, "And that is _not_ what I meant, for the love of Rowena, get your head out of the gutter!"

"Okay," Marlene insisted, "But was he a good snog?"

Jane groaned, her answer cut off by a new voice, "Was who a good snog?"

Then it was Lily's turn to groan, waving her hand and cutting off James' next words as the rest of the Marauders caught up, Sirius leaning on his best mate's shoulder with a smirk, "What about a snog?"

"Can we please move on now?" Jane questioned, well aware of Sirius' eyes on her own as she looked back to him, then to the other three, "And what are you all doing here anyhow?"

"I just came to see my darling little sister," James replied, plopping down, conveniently between Jane and Lily. The latter practically hissing.

"We're the same age, James," Jane noted, giving him a pointed look, "And I'm three minutes older if you want to go into specifics."

"Anyhow," James continued, completely ignoring his Ravenclaw sister, "What was that about 'a good snog' and my little sister?"

Said 'little sister' rolled her eyes and smacked the back of her brother's head, she may be used to his protective streak but she didn't have to like it.

"We just talking about first kisses," Marlene drawled, twirling a piece of hair around her finger, "And how Jane's was—"

Jane's wand was out in less than a second when she knew where Marlene was going, "_Silencio."_

Alice had the look of an angry parent as she scolded the _older_ Potter twin, "Jane! That was rude -"

"So was saying something like that in current company," Jane grumbled, likely the perfect picture of a scolded child.

"—and although slightly called for there were better ways to handle the situation. Now apologize and give Marlene her voice back."

"Yes, _Mother_," Jane grumbled, rolling her eyes before looking to Marlene and then back to Alice, "I may be rotten at charms but there are a few I've made a point to learn correctly. However the _counters_ to those few…"

"Jane you did not!"

Lily's exclamation was muted by the howls of laughter coming from James and Sirius, Peter always following their lead gave a forced laugh not entirely understanding what was funny, and even Remus chuckled.

"I think we've just established that I did, actually," Jane murmured, biting her lip to keep from laughing herself. She was a bright witch, honestly, she was always top of the class in D.A.D.A and Transfiguration, she had a 'natural skill' for Divination if any of her teachers were to be trusted, Arithmancy and Potions came easily, she had even tutored for multiple subjects! But Charms… she had never been good at it, she had known enough to pass the written tests, but Flitwick, and her prior teachers, had all given her the same look before telling her that perhaps she should take another elective instead.

Luckily, or not so luckily, something caught the boys' attention and James was quick to call out, "Snivellus! Ever heard of a shower?"

But for once Lily wasn't the first to hit him, instead Jane smacked the back of her brother's head, "Oh, drop it, James. Severus is not that bad, and you are a damn hypocrite if you think _he_ needs to shower. Find someone else to pick on, he is not your damn plaything."

"You're standing up for him?" James sneered, having gotten to hit feet to insult the other boy he was looking down at his sister until she stood in front of him, easily his height, with her arms crossed and an even glare on her face. "That slimy snake? Why the hell would—bloody hell, was _he_ the one you were talking about?"

"And if he had been?" Jane challenged, never breaking their staredown.

"Then I cannot believe I'm related to_ you_."

"Trust me, Brother, the feeling is mutual," Jane snapped, bumping into her brother forcefully as she stalked past, never stopping until she caught up to her brother's target, putting a hand on his arm to slow him.

Before James could turn his attention to something else a hard slap stung his face, his eyes quickly meeting those of one Lily Evans, "How could you say that to your own _sister_?"

The second she stalked off the rest of the girls were up, readying their own insults before Alice stepped forward, only one thing ended up being said before they left, "We weren't talking about him, Potter. Apologize to her."

* * *

They were siblings, they fought. They argued, they disagreed. Sometimes they couldn't be more different, but… they were still siblings, so no one was surprised when James approached his sister in her window perch. Despite the book open on her knees she still knew when he was walking in her direction and she debated ignoring him before shutting her book and crossing her arms. Even without his three constant companions hall traffic slowed and whispers grew louder. Of course the combination of both of the Potter's giving looks that quite clearly told any bystanders to get lost cleared them a relatively empty hallway.

Jane leaned against the window, raising an eyebrow when her brother didn't speak.

James let out a slow breath, biting on the inside of his cheek before he met his sister's eyes, "I'm sorry." His eyes darted to the window again and he had to take another deep breath, anyone who said talking to an angry Potter was easy was a bloody liar, "I'm sorry that I insulted Sni—Severus. It was really…"

"Idiotic? Stupid? Pointless," Jane supplied, "Hypocritical? Aimless?"

"Yeah," James admitted, scratching the back of his neck in a nervous habit, "All of those things, and probably more if you keep thinking of synonyms." Sadly his attempt at a joke fell flat, and Jane just continued to wait with an expectant expression, "And I'm sorry for insinuating that you had kissed him."

"I don't care about that, James."

"But—"

"Why do you think it would have been such a bloody bad thing for me to kiss him?"

"I-I," James shrugged, running a hand through his hair, "He's always hanging out with Lily and—"

"And you're jealous."

"I am no—"

"I'm your sister, I've dealt with you for longer than anyone else here, I know you better than our parents, James." She shook her head, James recognized the small things only a sibling could, the almost invisible signs that Jane was holding back tears, "Yet you said you couldn't believe you were related to me because of a possible snog? Because of a boy you're jealous of for no good reason? You envy that Lily enjoys his presence, but if you took Lily out of the equation… Then why in the world would you want to bother someone who's never done one bad thing to you?"

"He-!"

"What? He called you names? He gathered his friends and publicly _humiliated_ you? He tried to get your best friend to hate you? I know I've missed things the past three years, but _James_ for the love of Merlin; he hasn't done to you what you have to him."

James took in her words with a bowed head "I am sorry, Janey," he whispered, lifting his gaze to meet her eyes and letting out an uneven breath, "I'm so sorry about what I said, I don't know what I'd do if you weren't my sister, I know I can be a jackass, but you've always been there for me. I'm sorry, Jane. Please don't be mad?"

"I hate you," Jane stated, her brother's eyes widening, she rolled her eyes reaching out her arms and pulling her brother into a hug, "But I love you, too. Even though you are an absolute idiot."

"I am an absolute idiot," James parroted with a laugh, returning the hug and lifting his sister up in a show of strength that earned him a swat.

However the surge of pain in her head had Jane letting out a small shout before she was pulled into another memory.

_Jane had been walking down the hallway slowly when arms had wrapped around her back lifting her in a circle. If it had been anyone else she would have been on the defensive but somehow Jane knew who the arms belonged to and she twisted in their embrace meeting mischievous dark green eyes. She shook her head giving her friend a smile and mussing up his hair with her hand. _

_"And how was Quidditch?"_

_"Lovely, I do believe I've been demoted."_

_Jane let out a light laugh, "How could you possibly have been demoted? All you do is sit on a bench and wait for someone to let you on."_

_George looked at her in false confusion, not able to hide his small smirk, "Is demoted different than promoted?"_

_"Yes, you idiot!" Jane exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tight, "That's wonderful! Now I might actually have a reason to go to one of your games."_

_"You're hilarious, Jane," George snarked, "Honestly, funniest person I've met."_

* * *

_The scene shifted and the stone halls around them shifted to one of the familiar spaces behind the quidditch stands, in front of her George changed to a light haired Slytherin._

_"Malfoy, I understand that you dislike my brother, but he is not that bad," Jane defended, even in her second year she was well known for protecting her baby brother, and James was well known for getting himself into trouble, "Whatever it is you're planning, leave my brother out of it."_

_Lucius scoffed, taking a threatening step forward, as lanky as he had been at the time he towered over her, "Or what?"_

_Jane straightened her back, glaring hard enough to make the boy take the slightest movement back, "I'm not going to threaten you, it would be pointless to send you running to your _'Daddy'_ crying about what the mean little Potter girl did to you." The insult hit its mark and Lucius practically growled, but Jane didn't give him a chance to speak. "Whatever you do will not involve the Marauders, agreed?"_

_"This sounds suspiciously like a deal," Lucius countered, "So what do I get out of it?"_

_For a moment Jane seemed to debate this in her head, eventually shrugging, "A favour, within reason of course, when you need me I'll help you."_

_"Why would I ever need a blood-traitor like—"_

_"Which of us has the highest mark in Divination?" Jane questioned, interrupting his insult, when he didn't answer she continued, "Believe me, Malfoy, you will need my help. Leave my brother out of this and all plans to come and you'll have it."_

_"And if it's against your brother?"_

_"I did say within reason," the sarcastic Ravenclaw replied._

_Like any good business-man-to-be, Lucius thought over her offer, nodding, "Fine." Before Jane turned to leave, however, Lucius caught her arm, leaning down and cupping the back of her head, planting a soft kiss on her lips before stepping away with a smirk, "To seal the deal."_

_"Honestly, Malfoy," Jane shook her head, a smirk of her own forming before she slipped away, "I would have kissed you if you had asked."_

**oh no people keep sending me headcanons and i want them allllll, expect small strange mentions**

**the italics are being used for memories :) sorry i didn't mention that earlier**


	6. Chapter 6

"'What are the six steps to brewing a successful 'Draught of Living Death'," Sirius read loudly and abruptly, effectively disturbing Jane's concentration enough to cause her to spill ink across her page.

She let out a heavy breath, a habit both Potter's had when irritated, though her brother was more commonly quick to react. Speaking of her brother, it was his fault that Sirius was insisting to study with her, a few days prior Peter had been attempting –and failing—to be her shadow; but shadows didn't talk, and they certainly didn't smell like rats. Days before that she had accepted Remus' company, he was smart, intelligent, made good conversation, and wasn't the annoying prat his friends were. But even then she had only gone a couple days before making him explain his sudden presence. Of course it had been James.  
After she had fainted in the hallway he had freaked out, and no amount of reassurances would make him let it go, he insisted on an explanation, she insisted he mind his own business. They had just ended an argument, James wasn't about to start another, so he had 'asked' his friends to keep an eye on her.

A paper bird flew just above Jane's work before flying up and landing in her hair, she bit her cheek and willed herself not to react.

"Jane, I'm _bored_."

As _that_ memory began to surface Jane tightened her fist around her quill and finally met Sirius' eyes with a glare, "Then why don't you go find my dear little brother."

"Well, Love, I would, but you see your brother instructed me to not leave your side. He's worried about your safety, can you blame him?"

"Yes," Jane retorted, "Easily."

"Come on," Sirius reasoned, "He wants to keep you safe."

"I can keep myself safe."

"Well if you're so sure then why don't we test that?"

Jane sighed and rolled her eyes, "I'm going to regret all of my choices very soon, aren't I?"

"It'll be fine, just loosen up, have some fun," Sirius goaded, a large grin firmly on his face.

"If you say 'we should go swimming' I'm going to murder you," Jane muttered, luckily not loud enough for him to hear clearly.

Her comment earned her a strange look but nothing more, "A prank."

Jane gave the tall male an incredulous look, "You want me to help you prank someone?"

"It'll be fun," Sirius promised, though his wicked grin said otherwise.

* * *

"Exactly how sure of this are you?"

"Positive."

"But exactly—"

"J_ane_," Sirius exclaimed, quickly hushing himself so not to draw attention to the pair, "It'll work, I promise."

"And just how many pranks have you gotten _away_ with?" Jane questioned once more.

At that Sirius cleared his throat, coughed and stepped away to examine their project (Jane refused to call it a prank). A bucket filled with Flubberworm Mucus sat on a ledge near the ceiling, rigged to dump its contents on anyone to walk under it, charmed to refill itself each time it was emptied.

Almost immediately they heard Filch's cat making it's way towards them, Filch cooing and encouraging it to find the troublemakers soon after.

Jane's eyes met Sirius' and within the second they each held their wands, Sirius' voice rang out first the second Filch came around the corner, "_Petrificus Totalus_!"

Before she had even completely realized what she was doing Jane waved her own wand, "_Aufero evidentiam." _

The pair looking to each other once more, holding back laughter, before booking it down the hall, turning a corner just as they heard the bucket dump for the first time, as soon as they reached the top of the staircase they both burst into laughter.

Jane was still giggling as she exclaimed with a finger pointed at Sirius, "You froze Filch!"

"You," Sirius shook his head for a moment, chuckling, "I don't even know what you did, but it was amazing!"

Jane gave her own chuckle, "It's a spell a friend taught me, it will have removed any evidence of our presence."

"You need to teach me that spell," Sirius stated.

"Not a chance in hell," Jane retorted, giving her new friend a grin, "I need to be of some use next time we pull a prank."

"Are you saying there'll be a next time?"

Jane tugged her lip between her teeth, her eyes twinkling, before giving a shrug, "There's always a chance, Black."

"Call me Sirius," Black stated abruptly after a moment.

"Hm," Jane tilted her head, quite clearly playing with him now, "That sounds rather _serious_."

The boy's jaw dropped but there was a smile in his eyes, a bark of laughter, and then, "Oh, you brat!"

The Ravenclaw laughed, "Did you just call me a _brat_?"

"What do you prefer," Sirius drawled, leaning forward, "love?"

Jane scoffed, rolling her eyes, "I prefer my name."

"As soon as you call me by mine," Sirius challenged, with a self assured grin.

"Well," Jane replied gracefully, stepping away before meeting his gaze over her shoulder, "I do suppose we're at a standstill then, Darling."

* * *

_The fireworks were brilliant, beautiful, amazing... and possibly quite dangerous. Which was the exact reason that the moment the Professor spotted the two at the back they bolted. It was Jane's fourth year, George's as well, but it was her first year at Mariland. And even running through unfamiliar halls with an almost stranger at her side; Jane was ecstatic. Their footsteps echoed almost as loud as their laughter as the pair eventually slowed. _

_"You're going to get me expelled and it's not even been a week," Jane stated, huffing at the boy beside her who promptly rolled his eyes._

_"Oh come on Jane, the worst they're going to do is give us detention," George retorted, bumping her shoulder with his own, earning a glare._

_"That's still worse than anything I've done before!"_

_George snorted, "You really need to have some fun, Potter-ow!" He brushed at the arm she had hit rather forcefully before sighing, "It's not like we'll even get caught!"_

_"You're holding the evidence!"_

_George seemed to realize that exact thing himself and stopped walking, he placed the box of used fireworks on the floor, "Aufero Evidentiam."_

_"How did you do that?"_

_The only response Jane got while she stared at the box now filled with scrolls was a grin._

* * *

"You did what?" James shouted, jumping from his chair.

"Prongs, for the love of Merlin, relax," Remus stated, not looking up from his book, "Jane can take care of herself."

"No! You didn't see it, Moony, she _fainted_!" James explained in exasperation.

"Mate," Sirius shook his head, "She's not gonna drop dead, have some faith in your own sister, would ya?"

Prongs groaned, running a hand through his hair, the other hand on his hip, for a second Sirius could easily see Jane employ the same motions in her own stress, "But she ha—" James abruptly stopped himself, eyes going wide before stuttering out an attempt at an explanation for his worry.

But Sirius and Remus were already paying attention, by association as was Peter. Remus studied the male Potter curiously, "James," he began, "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"Nope," James answered all too quickly, "It's—there's nothing. Just a –never mind."

"Prongs," Sirius tried, he caught his friend's gaze, "Did something happen to Jane?"

"Yeah," Peter added the moment James' mouth actually began to form words, "What happened?"

Swallowing a lump in his throat James sat back in down and dropped his head into his hands, Sirius was beginning to see all the little things that were the same about the twins, before sighing and sinking into the chair. "I have no idea." He finally looked up, lifting his shoulders and dropping them once more, "She's… During fifth year, you remember when I got all antsy? Stopped talking for a bit, kept sending out letters? She, Jane, promised to come home, come to Hogwarts, for All Hallow's Eve. When she didn't I asked Nonna to check up on her, just in case…" Prongs let out a slow breath as if trying not to remember the story he was telling. "Nonna couldn't find her, she even asked some of the students but none of them could—none of them _would_ tell a house elf where to find my sister. When Nonna came back with nothing but worry I almost called my parents, didn't want to ruin their business trip though. The next day her owl delivered a letter." At this James reached into his bag, digging through it until he pulled out a small leather satchel, he pulled out a worn piece of paper and read;

_"~James,_

_My apologies, I couldn't make it to Hogwarts this Halloween. I had business to take care of. I hope you had a nice night. I likely won't write again for a while, please do not worry yourself over it; the work load is much harder here._

_-Jane."_

"The one time I called 'All Hallow's Eve' 'Halloween' in front of Jane she slapped me," Peter muttered, seeming unaware that that was what was on the other boys' minds as well.

"She would never complain about a workload," Remus added.

"And the day that girl writes a letter that simple is the day Lily stops defending Snape," Sirius finished.

Finally James looked from the letter to his friends, "We need to know what happened."


	7. Chapter 7

Despite their conversation the previous night the Marauders had yet to come up with a plan to learn what had happened to Jane while she was at this 'Mariland Academy'. Which was exactly why James had dragged his sister to the Gryffindor table the next morning at breakfast. Admittedly the tables weren't exactly as segregated as some thought, they really weren't segregated at all. But it was still as surprise to some to see both the Potter siblings at the same table, sure they were close but they had their own friends.

A bigger surprise came, even to the other Marauders, when Jane easily snitched parts of James' breakfast, having finished hers earlier. When she snagged a grape off his plate he smacked her hand, "You devious felon!"

"Took you long enough to notice," Jane replied, popping the grape into her mouth and giving her brother a pointed look, "You honestly need to work on your observational skills."

"Or you could work on your pyromaniac tendencies."

His sister scoffed, "First of all, that was an _experiment_. Secondly, the word you're looking for is _kleptomaniac_."

Sadly their banter was cut short the moment James spotted Lily a few seats down, Jane locked away her disappointment as her brother left without another word. At this point she was used to it, there was always going to be someone just _that much_ better than her.

A voice broke her out of her momentary self-pity-party, and she met Sirius' eyes after he spoke, "You know he cares about you, right?"

A small sarcastic laugh escaped her lips, and she raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "He's my brother, Sirius. I know that he cares about Lily first, his friends next…" She shrugged a shoulder and grabbed another grape off her brother's now abandoned plate, "I know I'm not very high on his list of people to pay attention to unless he needs something."

Her brother's best mate opened his mouth to say something else, but was quickly interrupted by the appearance of two girls. One practically draping herself over him with a murmured 'hello' she began kissing his neck and Jane openly rolled her eyes. Her friend sat down beside the pair picking at small amounts of food and watching Jane with something akin to superiority.

"Name's Pepper," the friend introduced herself before gesturing to the girl now in Sirius' lap, "That's Catty."

_Imagine that her name matches her personality_, Jane thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes before she simply nodded, "Jane."

Pepper nodded in return, a sly smirk sliding onto her features as she pointed between Sirius and the female Potter, "So what's the story here?"

Jane gave her an inquisitive look, remaining relatively impassive, "And that's your business because?"

"Because I don't want my best friend getting hurt by some side fling," Pepper stated maintaining her smirk. "Not that I think you could do much damage."

Something ticked inside of Jane, like a switch, she leaned forward as if to tell Pepper a secret but didn't lower her voice in the least, "Poppy –Pepper, whoever you are, the fact that you think the boy is sleeping around on your friend clearly states she must be doing something wrong in the sack," Jane stood and leaned back, giving the girl an appraising look before smirking, "And if I was shagging the lad, he wouldn't need another fling on the side." Offering the girl another nod and a sweet smile Jane was leaving the hall with practiced grace and composure, ignoring the fact that she could feel, at least the trio she had just sat with, watching her as she left.

It wasn't until the doors had closed behind her and she had turned off into another hallway that she let herself growl and spin around, her hands flying to her necklace as she tugged at it. It was a habit she had adopted while away, a way of trying to deal with stress, it would be better if she had something –or someone—to hit.

"Not that I doubt a word you said," a voice started, causing Jane to spin on her heel and face Kai as he leaned against the wall, "Are you okay?"

"Absolutely fan-tas-tic," Jane snarked, moving to lean against the wall beside her friend.

"James really—"

"If you dare say 'cares about you' I will hex you into next week," she interrupted earning a scoff from the boy beside her.

"As I was saying," He began again, giving her a pointed look, "He really is quite a bloody wanker sometimes."

Now that got a laugh out of the girl, "You have no idea."

"Come on," Kai instructed, slinging his arm over his friend's shoulders, "I know exactly how to get you through this mood!"

For once Jane just grinned, leaning on her friend as they made their way through the familiar twists and turns, walking three times past the same spot, as soon as the door appeared Jane's grin grew thrice-fold.

"It has been much too long," Jane declared, setting her hand on the knob, "Ready?"

With a roll of his eyes Kai gestured for her to hurry on, and the stepped into the familiar room, the Room of Requirement. Jane was ecstatic to see that it hadn't changed much, at all really, while she had been gone. Kai had told her in his letters that it had been converted into a sort of 'hangout for the odd and wary', meaning the few people sprawled around the room weren't a surprise to the girl. One of the muggleborns had brought a tv set, but they had yet to figure out how to set it up. Moving to the middle of the room with an almost impossible smile on her face Jane spun around, the walls were decorated with a mix of muggle and wizard merchandise, there were trinkets and pieces of furniture scattered around, it was an absolute mess, she loved it.

With a twinkle in her eye she faced Kai once more, "We're back in business."

* * *

Sirius had to admit that he was the tiniest bit surprised when he entered the potions room to find Jane already seated on her stool at their table, a quill in her hand as her writing slowly took over a piece of paper in what looked like a list. But as soon as he ventured to look closer it was rolled up and slid into her bag. She raised her head momentarily to nod at him, before gathering the supplies that Professor Slughorn had listed on the board.

After a few minutes of silence Sirius cleared his throat, "Are we off speaking terms?"

With a sigh, Jane replied, not removing her attention from the task at hand, "Don't be delusional, I'm just tired."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "And tired means I don't even get a greeting, Love, I'm hurt."

Finally the girl beside him met his gaze, "Tired means I have work to do, and since you do as well, I suggest we get to it."

With a sigh of his own Sirius let it go for the moment, following Jane's lead in crushing and dicing ingredients needed for the potion.

But he was never one for silence, even if the rest of the room was filled with chatter, so he spoke again soon after they began mixing the potion (though Sirius wasn't paying enough attention figure out what the potion was), "You know, it was quite amusing."

"What was?" Jane questioned, keeping her eyes on her notes as she wrote down each step they had gone through.

"Your speech to Pepper, of course," Sirius replied, chuckling as he tapped the table. Without seeing her eyes he could tell Jane had rolled them.

"Remind me how insulting one's significant other is amusing?"

Sirius groaned, "She is definitely not my 'significant other' in any way shape or form." Jane scoffed in return but didn't respond otherwise. "_Come on_," he pouted, actually pouted, bumping her shoulder with his own, "I thought you weren't mad at me?"

Finally Jane set down the quill and looked up at the _pouting_ boy next to her, "I'm not mad at you, Sirius, I'm angry with my brother. That's all, alright?"

He grinned again quickly, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Alright."

Immediately Sirius could see suspicion rise in Jane's features, "Just help me finish this, Black."

* * *

Between classes Kai and Jane were planning. Slytherin resourcefulness, ambition and cunning, paired with Ravenclaw intelligence, creativity and logic made an unstoppable force. At least, that was what Kai and Jane so often joked about, along with Xeno, Dante, and a few others they had formed a study group, it had brought them all closer to one another when they were younger. But Kai and Jane occasionally branched off, they were top of their classes when put together, and they had started something. They never actually knew what to call it, and they didn't outright admit it was a thing, but when a student was bullied they would often be directed to the pair, by the end of the day the bully always apologised.

Earlier a second year Hufflepuff that looked up to Kai had approached them timidly, now Jane leaned against a wall looking as if without a care in the world. Her eyes snapped up to meet the violet contacts of her friend while he followed a much short boy, without another moment Jane tapped the boy's shoulder as he began to pass.

"Elroy, is it?" Jane asked, a smile ever present. The boy didn't think for a moment something was off, all too happy to have the attention of the older female as he nodded, replying easily,

"Ay, Doll, something I can help you with?"

The Ravenclaw raised her eyebrows at the Gryffindor boy before meeting Kai's violet contacts with a scoff. Taking his turn, Kai grabbed the boy's shoulder and moved him so the Gryffindor had his back to the wall and both the Ravenclaw and the Slytherin stood in front of him. "Elroy, heard you were twisting around our dear Ellie," Kai's voice was not the sarcastic/happy tone so many people were used to.

"But that couldn't be true," Jane continued, her own voice sweet as sugar and a clear sign she could destroy this kid, "I mean, you're a half-blood Gryffindor with no siblings, lovely parents; Louie and Anne, was it? No economic problems, a sweet pet owl named Boo…"

Kai picked up where Jane trailed off, "It's probably the friends—right!" He snapped his fingers and turned to Jane as if he had just remembered something, "He doesn't have any."

Jane pouted, "Poor boy."

"Who the hell are you?" Elroy asked, courage in his bones, "And how do you know that 'bout me?"

"You reveal a lot when you pick on a girl," Jane informed him, smiling again, "And Hufflepuffs like Ellie, they remember every word used to insult them."

"But you're a big, strong, Gryffindor," Kai mocked, "So to prove your worthiness you didn't just _insult_ the _second year Hufflepuff_."

"You really scared her," Jane noted, looking as innocent as ever, "She almost didn't talk to us. But she and my friend here know each other, really Slytherins and Hufflepuffs are so protective of each other, it's wonderful."

"Next time you're gonna hit another student, don't aim for the face, you idiot," Kai scoffed, glaring.

The boy swallowed and both partners in crime observed him for a moment before Kai smirked.

"But there's not gonna be a next time," Kai stated, raising an eyebrow and practically _daring_ the kid to object, "And Ellie's gonna receive an apology and a cookie by the end of the day."

Kai had already walked away when Jane patted the boy on the shoulder, "Lovely to meet you, Elroy, have a nice afternoon, hm?"

Before the last class had even started Elroy had handed the young Hufflepuff a box of cookies and mumbled an apology.

None of the three spoke of it again.

**Solstice Greetings! This is the Holiday I prefer to celebrate, and in celebration I give you: a double update! Happy Holidays!**


	8. Chapter 8

Muggle studies was definitely one of Jane's favourite classes. And during her second last class of the day she sat beside Kennedy at the table behind Kai and Dante, they had been learning about 'Muggle Geography', as if being wizards and witches impaired their ability to look at a map. But near the end of class Kai had managed to up her spirits by turning the lesson into another session of banter (she refused to call it flirting).

"Are you from France?" He began, grinning, "Because Eiffel for you."

"Are you from Stockholm?" She returned, "Because you're the Swedish boy I've met."

"It's good that we're in the UK, cause I want U, K?"

Jane laughed, biting her lip to think of another, "Have you visited your brother in Australia lately? Because you've met all of my koala-fications."

"This may not be India, but since you're here I think I'm in Lucknow," Kai replied, standing as the end of class was signalled and offering a hand to Jane.

"I Equa-dor you," Jane said, swinging their entwined hands between them. For some reason she had always been comfortable around Kai, and since he had yet to complain about the lack of personal space they left each other she assumed it was mutual. Despite what was often insisted they _were_ just friends, a year before they had spent the summer in the same area.  
Jane on vacation with her family had stayed at a hotel run by Kai's mother. During that time both of their respective mother's had made offhanded comments about 'neither of them having steady relationships' and how they were 'practically dating anyhow', so they had shrugged and tried it. Calling each other 'Sweetie', 'Honey', referring to themselves as a couple, going on dates… by the end of the week it was mutually accepted as a horrible idea and never spoken of again. Jane could never think of the taller tanned boy as anything but a friend, a best friend maybe, sometimes even family, but nothing more than platonic. And due to many conversations and comments shared between them she knew Kai agreed.

Still, neither of them could explain the flirting, it was just part of how they communicated.

Fingers snapped in front of her nose and Jane's attention returned to the present, and Kai's amused expression, "Dozing off in the hallway is against the rules, Jane."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, bumping her shoulder into his arm, sadly the height difference wouldn't allow shoulder-bumping. "Says the lad that slept in the hallway for a week because he was mad at his roommates. Besides," Jane flashed her friend a wink, "I was simply getting lost in your overwhelming presence.

"Maybe we should get a map then," Kai easily returned to their previous banter, "I can't stop getting lost in your eyes."

"Well I only need directions to your heart," Jane replied, raising an eyebrow, "Show me the way?"

"I don't know if I can," Kai explained sadly, "I mean, I'm not drunk, but you've intoxicated me."

"I'd say you look fine, but that's not unusual."

"Does your left eye hurt? You've been looking right all d—"

"Hers might not but if you didn't back off yours will," a much taller more masculine version of Jane threatened, stepping close to the slightly taller boy in a manner that would be intimidating; had the other boy not been Kai he likely would've felt very scared.

Jane groaned, her hand running through her hair, Kai passed her a smirk over her brother's shoulder and she knew it wasn't going to end well. "Mate, I might be a bit out of it after Jane and my," he coughed as if pretending editing his next words, Jane rolled her eyes at the innuendo, "uh, _session_. But who are you?"

"Jane's _brother_," James growled, obviously not happy with the implications that Kai enjoyed implying.

"Her brother?" Kai asked, feigning surprise with a grin and he clamped his hand on James' shoulder, "Congratulations! You're going to be an uncle!"

"Kai!"

"Hm?" Kai looked at her with his eyebrows raised before snapping his fingers and shrugging, "Right! I forgot we were keeping it a secret until we eloped!" He turned to James again, "Sorry, Mate."

"We're not friends, _Kai_," James glowered, spitting out his name like an insult, "And my _sister_ is off-limits to _Slytherins_."

"Oh for the love of—" Jane grumbled, taking her brother's arm and spinning him to face her, "Your _sister_ can damn well make her own _bloody_ decisions, James. And while you and Kai may not be friends, he and I are, so sod off. And I'm not pregnant!"

Though he showed slight relief that last comment didn't lessen his anger enough, "Jane, he's not a good person—"

"_He_ still has ears," Kai reminded him, raising his hand as if he thought he had been forgotten.

"Kai," Jane stated, a nod to tallest of the trio, "Is a friend. You're going to accept that, whether you want to or not. Just as we discussed Severus, Slytherins are not automatically bad people, James. Back off and leave my friends alone. Understood?"

"I don't understand, Jane. I don't understand how you can be friends with slimy snakes that only judge and pick on other people—"

"Unlike you and your band of misfits?" Jane challenged, "Out of the four of you Remus is the only one half decent, and yet even he doesn't offer an apology after hurting someone's feelings. Together you have ridiculed and judged anyone you felt like, never stopping to notice," Jane took a step forward, her height evenly matching that of her brother but her heels allowing her that much of an advantage as she glared down at him with her last words; "That you are just as bad as the _Slytherins_ that you hate so much."

During her speech Kai had moved to her side and together they walked to their next class without a word.

At the door Kai turned to her with a strange look, "I could've handled it."

Jane raised an eyebrow, "I would've let you, but no one is allowed to hurt my brother. And the truth hurts."

* * *

Even after the last class of the day had let out Jane was tense, emotions thundering just beneath the surface were locked tightly enough to allow her to maintain an impassive expression as she took quick, purposeful strides towards the Gryffindor Common Room. Not to apologize to her brother, no despite her childish want to make everything better; she had done nothing wrong. James would have to suck it up, she would not walk on eggshells around her own damn brother.

No, that wasn't the reason. Kennedy had left her music playing muggle device in the Muggle Studies room and knowing how attached the girl was to the object Jane intended to return it as soon as she could. Still Jane couldn't shake the familiar feeling that something would go wrong once Jane stepped into the room and she may have delayed her path a slight bit.

_Come on, Jane, if you don't face them you can't fight them._

A small smile lifted Jane's lips and she stopped to gaze out one of many tall windows, she could easily conjure the familiar face that matched the voice in her mind. His eyes were green, it was what had always stood out to her, dark, dark, green, a few times she had mistaken them for brown or black. If he had been here he would tell her to get off her arse and deal with the problem…

A small sigh escaped her and she shook her head, whispering, "But you're not here are you?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Love, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness."

She hadn't been expecting a reply in the least and it made her jump as she spun around, relaxing slightly at the face and rolling her eyes. "If either of us are mad, Sirius, it's surely you. Hasn't anyone every taught you not to eavesdrop? It's rude."

Sirius Black grinned, shrugging, "Is it really eavesdropping if there's only one person?"

"Not that you aren't wonderfully infuriating," Jane replied, straightening up and nodding her head to the side, "But I've got to return Kennedy's- I don't actually remember what she kept calling it, music device."

"I'll walk with you."

Jane scoffed, raising an eyebrow, resulting in a silent communication between the two that probably went something along the lines of:

_Honestly, Black?_

_Do you have a problem with that?_

_You're infuriating._

_So you've stated._

And ended with Jane giving up and walking away, Sirius quick to catch up. The bickered while they walked until coming to the portrait of The Fat Lady who eyed them and demanded the password. Without a thought that perhaps she should let the _actual_ Gryffindor answer Jane stated, "Crumblepuffs." And they were through.

Sirius' expression was something between concern and confusion when he asked, "How do you know the password?"

To which the Ravenclaw grinned and gave him a wink but no real answer. Her words would've been cut off anyhow as Lily's voice reached them the moment they were in the room.

The redhead stood glaring furiously at James in the middle of the room, everyone else stock still and watching the pair. Jane only caught the ending of whatever tangent Lily had been on with, "—cannot stand you! You're utterly terrible, you do horrible things and yet you expect everyone to love you? Well, James Potter; I do not. I will never care for you and I have no idea how anyone does! And Jane! How she puts up with you is incredible, you've made your sister a liar and a hypocrite!" Jane froze with the room and a choked sound escaped her, quiet enough to only gather Sirius' attention, she didn't manage to compose herself before he saw the betrayal of tears, Jane was never brought up in the tiffs between Lily and James. Never. It was an unspoken rule. No matter what, Lily would never, she would _never_ even reference the female Potter.

…

_But she did_.

"Those years away were probably heaven compared to dealing with your mistakes," Lily kept going, Jane could have sworn her heart stopped, "Yet everyone knows you don't care for her, if you did you wouldn't act like such a damn - ugh, toerag!" With that Lily spun on her heel and marched up the stairs. While everyone else stayed frozen James' gaze found Jane.

Lily had yelled at him, hurt him worse than she ever had before, and his outlet was standing right in front of him. "What are you looking at, _Janey_?" James spit out, glaring, "Thinking of more ways to poison Lily against me? Everything was fine while you were away, you know. She didn't yell at me half as much as she does now that _you're_ back. You should've just stayed away. Can't you just _leave_? God, for someone who's supposed to be smart you're damn stupid sometimes, _no one wants you here_. Lily hates me thanks to you." James shook his head, "I hate you."

And for once in her life Jane Harriet Potter had no idea what she was to do. For this she had no solution. There was no problem to solve, no riddle to answer, no secret to uncover. She had nothing. Absolutely nothing.

So she steeled her expression, lifted her chin, walked over to Kennedy to hand the girl her device, then turned, and left. Without a clue as to where she was headed she simply walked out, she had intended to confront her brother but… it would seem fate had other plans. She wouldn't run, she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't scream, she wouldn't betray any emotion. Her paces were measured, every action calculated, and still she had no direction.

It was only when a raindrop fell onto her head that she noticed she had left the castle, if she took in her surroundings she would know she was in an unfamiliar part of the forest. She perched on a rock, staring sightlessly into a clear pond while raindrops rippled the surface.

Only one thing dared cross her mind;

_I hate you._

* * *

Back in the Gryffindor Common Room James was sporting a black eye, an intense sense of guilt, and likely a lot of self-deprecation.

He hadn't meant a word of it, honestly, he just _needed_ to hurt someone the way he hurt inside. And Jane… god, why did it have to be Jane? Anyone else would've been fine but Jane was the only one he knew would truly hold value in his words and—Bloody Hell!

"I'm an absolute idiot," he groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

He heard a scoff from Remus, Sirius actually giving him the kind reply of "No one's gonna argue that, Mate."

"I need to go apologize."

"If you can get her to listen to you," Remus corrected.

"This is all because of whatever happened while she was awa—"

"No." Sirius stated, interrupting his best mate and surprising all three of his roommates, "This isn't because she won't spill her guts about what happened, James. This is about you being a bloody jackass to your sister. You haven't even tried asking her what happened, you just keep trying to plot it out of her. You don't see her as a person, Mate, you haven't acknowledged that she's got her own reasons, her own feelings. You wouldn't try any of that shite on Lily, or Moony, or Wormtail, or Marlene, or Emmeline, or literally anyone else! She's your sister, you should care about her more than anyone else, she's _family_, Prongs. You're the one always pulling the family card, well you actually have one! And you just made her believe you actually hate her."

James laid his empty hands out and lifted his shoulders, barely noticing the thunder that was steadily approaching, "I don't know what to do."

"Figure it out," Sirius replied shortly, grabbing his coat before swiftly following the path he had watched Jane take only an hour before. Even he knew of her fear of thunderstorms, James hadn't told anyone, but it wasn't hard to see. Whenever lightning struck Jane would tense up, her muscles would tense at the slightest rumble in the clouds, she would always find a way to excuse herself and be alone.

Eventually he gave up on relying on his human side to track down his friend's sis—was that what she still was? Were they friends? Were they –gods for someone that never gave a second thought about a single girl before; Jane managed to screw up his head way too easily. Just as he began debating shifting into his animagus form to better track her, a small cry caught his attention.

"Jane?" He called out as he turned. His approach slowed when the crying stopped abruptly, he listened to the rustle of movement before Jane called back.

"Sirius," her voice was unsteady and that alone was enough to worry the Gryffindor who knew of Jane's wonderful ability to hide her emotions. "Sirius, I-I."

In confusion Sirius hurried forward again, "Jane? What happened?"

He didn't receive an answer as he entered the clearing, first seeing the clear pond as lightning struck close enough to light it up, then the pooling blood beside it. A pale, bloody, bruised, Jane curled against a tree.

Sirius shouted, "Bloody Criss, Jane!" Quickly moving to her side and working to find a way to get her back to the castle.

"My br-a-acelet, Sirius," she mumbled, giving a small yelp when Sirius' hand met her side. He gave a curse and tried again, placing his arms under her knees and behind her shoulders. "Sirius, fi-i-nd m—gods, my bre- br- bracelet, find it."

"A piece of jewellery isn't really my first concern right now, Love," Sirius grumbled, standing and turning back the way he came only to have Jane's hand tighten on his arm with surprising force.

Her voice was strong for the first time since he found her even if it cracked, "Sirius Black, I need that bracelet."

"Oh for the love of-!" Sirius growled, "Fine, I'll come back for it, alright? But you need to see the nurse!" Apparently satisfied Jane nodded, tucking her head into his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck to hold herself up as much as she could. "Don't fall asleep, you might have a concussion."

"And how exactly would you suggest I stay awake in this godaw—aieeep!"

Sirius bit back a chuckle at Jane's yelp, the thunder was still loud, and perhaps it was wishful thinking but he could swear the rain was letting up just a bit. "Tell me a story, you know of our adventures during the last three years, what have you been doing?"

"That's not a story you want to hear," Jane mumbled, shaking her head against his arm.

Sirius shrugged, trudging on, a story might make the walk back a bit easier, "Try me."

For a moment the only sound was the pitter-patter of rain, then, with a sigh, Jane spoke, the occasional tremble or stumble messing up a few of her words, "Three years ago I met a boy, he was a damn t-tr-roublemaker. We met when, he tr-ied to jinx, my hot chocolate, I'd had a long train ride, and the f-a-act that I wou-ld be away from my brot—my fam-mil-ily, for a whole year was just setting in. To say I was uni-im-mpres-essed would be the understatement of the year, well, th-that year maybe? Hm," the smallest of laughs escaped her lips, "I told him off, and imm-ediat-ediately his brothers were laughing, gods _they were just laughing_. At first I thought they were laughing _at _me, but they were just impressed, appa-apparent-rently not many people stood up for themselves when th-ey-ey were new. They took me in, kept the damn demon-girls off me, and soon George and I were close friends. Honestly, my best friends, during those three years, were the Sullivans, that was their last name. Sometimes it was hard keeping them all stre-strah-straight, much too big of a family, but George, Peony, Peter, and –" her breath caught and for a second she didn't speak, he could feel her shaking and for once wasn't sure if it was just from the cold, "And Mary were they only ones in my year. Peony and Peter of course were very textbook, they were intelligent, but oblivious to so many wonderful things. George and I were often messing around, pranks and such, Mary would join us on occasion…"

Lost in thought Jane trailed off and Sirius cleared his throat. "What happened to the—"

"Ask me the next time you save my life, Black." Jane replied tiredly, yawning. Her exhale of breathe was warm against Sirius' neck and he would deny it having some effect on him. Just as he would deny that her being so close to him was having an effect on him.

He would deny it all, so long as he got to the nurse's office soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Jane woke up with a pounding headache and loud voices around her. Her mind was still fuzzy, images and memories blurring, her head too much for her to pick them apart at the moment so instead she simply raised her hands to cover her eyes from the light and spoke loudly, "Would you all please _clam it_."

She almost breathed a sigh of relief at the momentary quiet but then there was a chorus of "Jane!" and a flurry of movement before the voices were all much closer, panicked, apologetic and –

"That is the exact opposite of _quiet_," Jane snarked, opening her eyes to the many faces and rolling her eyes, "Personal space?"

She closed her eyes and ignored the voices, when she opened her eyes again she took inventory, for lack of a better description. Xenophilius sat on the end of her bed knotting thread into a bracelet, Kai stood behind him, thoroughly amused by the crowd, the girls stood around on her right side, the boys on her left. Her eyes caught Lily's, than snapped over to James', and her expression hardened.

"Not that I don't love you all," Jane interrupted whoever had been speaking, "But please get out."

Emmeline was the first to nod, reaching over and placing a kiss on her friend's forhead, the action mimicked by Hestia before the two quickly exited what Jane now knew to be the infirmary. Dante and Dorcus both left quietly, with small nods and whispered well-wishes, Jane took note that they held hands as they left and smiled slightly. Kennedy had gone, Alice and Frank left together to no one's surprise. Xeno warned her about something called a Perchant attacking her in the woods and informed her he was making another bracelet to add to the magic of the one she had lost.

Leaving all of the Marauders stubbornly in place, with Kai, Lily, and Marlene sticking around. Jane looked between the seven of them and raised her eyebrows, "Honestly?"

"If the concussion hasn't damaged your memory you will remember what happened yesterday," Kai commented, he nodded to the other four males, "I'll leave when they do."

"Ditto to that," Marlene grunted, narrowing a glare in the males' general direction.

Jane rolled her eyes, "Compromise then, Peter and Remus leave with Marlene and Kai. Then you've got two and two." She refused to specify who made up the 'two' and 'two' as she knew they would come to their own conclusions. Marlene and Kai communicated silently before shrugging and walking out of the room behind Remus and Peter. The latter offering Jane an apologetic smile to which she nodded, letting him know she couldn't blame him. If she couldn't control her brother neither could Remus, it wasn't the other boy's fault.

Apparently comfortable with the much smaller company both James and Lily opened their mouths with, "Jane, I—"

"One at a time," Jane grumbled, running a hand through her hair, "I can't believe I'm honestly going to sort this all out _here_, my gods." When the pair simply both attempted to speak first again Jane held up her hand quickly gesturing for Lily to be quiet for a moment.

"I'm so sorry," James muttered, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair, "I don't know why I said those things I am a complete jackass—"

"Damn right," Lily interrupted, "You cursed out your own sister, do you have any idea—"

"What I was feeling?" Jane interrupted, turning her cold gaze to the redhead, "No he doesn't, but neither do you, Lily Evans. It is not your place to defend me to my brother just as it was _not_ your place to speak of me to my brother last night. We had a _promise_, Evans. You would never stand for me speaking to Severus in your defence and you have _no right_ to bring me up as a fall card when you're in a tiff with my brother. Yes he is a complete and utter jackass at times but you seem to forget; he is _my_ brother. And no matter what he has done he was not deserving of your little speech last night."

Silence followed. Lily looked shocked, and slightly guilty, her head bowed, "I was trying to be a friend."

"You are a friend," Jane insisted, "But I don't do your homework for you, so don't fight my fights for me."

The redheaded Gryffindor nodded and swallowed, "I am sorry Jane. I – I was upset and angry and I kept thinking about how you two were so different, and why –"

Jane scoffed, "We're twins, Lily, not clones."

Finally Lily allowed a smile, "I'm glad you're feeling better, I've got a few things to sort out myself, so I'll leave you be." Straightening herself and rolling her shoulders back Lily faced James, and for a moment Jane thought her words had had no effect whatsoever but then, "And I'm sorry to you as well, James. I was rather rash in my response, and I shouldn't have brought up Jane." She nodded once more to Jane before leaving, the latter looking to her brother.

"Jane, I-"

"Leave."

Jane watched her brother freeze, as if he was trying to figure out how to take her words, if they had been directed at him, finally he shook his head with a disbelieving expression as if he truly believed she had meant that word for someone else, "Jane, you know that—"

"What I know is that you said you hated me. There is no taking that back. What I know is that you've been digging into the last three years—"

"I was worried!" James interrupted.

In return Jane practically growled, "It was none of your business!"

Glaring James shouted back, "I'm your brother!"

"Really?! Because you're acting a damn lot like my father!"

Jane's words broke the shouting into incredible silence. Sirius clearing his throat reminded them both of his presence but neither opted to break their eye contact, furious glares dying down with heavy breaths. Eventually James stepped back and appraised his sister.

"You mean that?"

Giving a tired sigh Jane gave her brother a half-smile, "Have I ever said something I didn't mean?"

"I don't –"

"Intend too." Jane finished her brother's sentence, just as she had done so often as a child, "I know, James. But that doesn't mean you aren't. You still think of me as the little thirteen year old girl terrified to go to leave home, always in her brother's shadow. The last time you truly knew me I was always behind you James, you were my shield from the world." She shook her head and took a deep breath, meeting his eyes with more emotion then she had intended, a lot of things had been left unsaid for too long, "But I'm not that little girl anymore than you're the little boy that ran to his sister crying the first time he got detention. I'm that little girl about as much as you're the little boy that refused to go anywhere without his sister, that was _devastated_ when his sister was put in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor. James, we both changed in three years, you have to accept that I don't need you to be my shield, my protection. I need you to be my brother, my equal."

James ran his hand through his hair, watching Jane with the same expression she would get while in deep thought. Her head tilted to the side while she wondered what was going through her brother's head, she honestly missed being able to read him like a paperback novel. Soon he nodded, "One condition."

Jane rolled her eyes despite the small grin on her lips, "Of course there is."

* * *

Sitting in Divination Jane listened to her Professor explain the same things she had said so many times before. The Ravenclaw girl was glad to be on better terms with her brother once again but at this point she couldn't help the wariness she felt, a little voice in the back of her head telling her it wouldn't last. Somehow she and her brother always ended up on opposite sides of the fence, she could still hope, but her hope was drained. She was tired of just _hoping_.

Jane took the cue of the Professor's voice finally trailing off and dipped her head back, letting a drop of the potion fall onto her eye. It was supposedly meant to bring out the 'inner psychics' in any 'gifted' students, in all honesty Jane didn't know how many more 'visions' she could take and for that she wished that the potion would have no effect on her.

What happened was the exact opposite of her wish and when Jane's eyes snapped open she wasn't in her classroom any more. _Unsure of her footing she staggered back a bit, only to fall right through a tree. She tried to call out but her voice failed her, from what she could tell the passersby couldn't even see her. Finally she focused on her surroundings, stepping forward tentatively until she was sure the ground wouldn't disappear beneath her feet. She recognized the area around her, somehow she had travelled to the greenery surrounding the castle, a few students were milling around but the ones that caught her attention clearly should have been in class. Again she tried to call out, tried yelling her brother's name; again it did nothing. Still she walked closer, learning that at least _she_ could hear _them_. Sadly their conversation was boring and mundane, something they would talk about any other day just as so.  
For a flash second she met Sirius' eyes,_

Finally her eyes refocused on the classroom. She was back where she was supposed to be, and it was as if hardly a few minutes had passed. Jane would have written it off as a silly and strange daydream, if not for the way her Professor was so very focused on her now.

Dinner had long since finished once Jane was permitted to leave the Headmaster's office, and the conversations continued to run through her head. It couldn't be—she hadn't…, continuously she attempted to shake off the thoughts that didn't make sense. All it lead to was her collision with a very familiar body—boy! Familiar boy.

"Not that I'm against you falling for me—"

"Shut up, Black," Jane grumbled, smacking his shoulder lightly.

"Oh you love my voice," Sirius retorted swinging an arm around her shoulders as she began to walk again, "Why else would you always be around me?"

At this the Ravenclaw scoffed, giving the Gryffindor a pointed look, "Don't flatter yourself, Love."

"So about yesterday," Jane stiffened almost imperceptibly but Sirius continued, "I've been thinking it over,"

"An honest disquiet, I'm sure," Jane mumbled, not sure how to deal with her building anxiety over what she had told him.

Sirius continued as if she hadn't spoken, "And I've come to the conclusion that there's really only one reasonable explanation as to why you left."

In all honesty he _had_ thought it over, Sirius knew she only would have left friendships like that if something had happened, something had happened to that family and that was why she refused to speak of her time there. It was too painful, and while he had intended to inform her of his discovery he couldn't. He met her eyes and recognized the hidden layers; distrust, hurt, anger, he knew the emotions she was hiding and he knew she would never even think of pressuring him to tell her about his family. Which all led to his answer instead being,

"You missed me!"

"Of course," Jane rolled her eyes, relief visibly washing over her expression, "You're a genius, Sirius Black. That is most certainly the sole reason I returned."

* * *

_"George you are utterly exasperating."_

_"Jane you use a lot of really big words."_

_"Would you two stop flirting?" Mary interrupted reasonably, they did need to actually do their homework._

_"Mary," Jane began, tilting her head to the side, "If we stop 'flirting', as you say, will you tell us who it is?"_

_Mary sighed in exasperation, "Who who is?"_

_"The person you're clearly in love with," George answered with a devilish grin._

_Mary's eyes darted between her close friend and her brother before she groaned, "I liked it better when you were flirting."_

_"But then who would bother you?"_

**In honor of getting over 1,000 views (thank you all that's so exciting! i love you guys!) next chapter would you rather an entire chapter from jane's time away with more information about the people she met and what she went through, a super shippy jane/sirius chapter, or a chapter with lucius malfoy severus snape and a bit of james/lily shipping?**


	10. Chapter 10

**One Year Before**

Kai had been ecstatic when he received his brother's letter, even if it had been short. They hadn't seen each other since… well, since their father had died. But Nathan had invited Kai to come down to the home where he was staying for Christmas.

Now that the Slytherin was actually outside the house he had no idea what he was doing. Luckily he was saved from making a decision by three small kids running right past him into the house, a fourth running straight into him.

"Sirry, Mistah," the kid bellowed, righting himself and offering the much taller male a hand that wouldn't do much to help.

"It's alright, I heard a rumour that redheads can't actually see three steps in front of them." The words spewed from Kai's mouth without much thought process, or any to be honest, and the kid looked a bit shocked, pouting sadly and opening his mouth to retort.

"Aye," A female voice interrupted, smacking the now standing Kai across the back of his head, "Mal might be a damn klutz but you've got no right to speak ta him like that, now apologize."

It was Kai's turn to be shocked but all the same he looked between the redheaded pair and stuttered out a confused apology.

The young boy grinned, "It's alrigh' Mistah, if ya have to deal with Mary we're gonna be even pretty quickly."

"Hey!" Mary exclaimed indignantly, shaking her head, a small smile pulling on her lips as she waved the younger one away, "Scat Malcom, you've got homework to do."

The boy nodded, running into the house, but not before he stuck his tongue out at Kai. The latter rolling his eyes before looking at the girl in front of him, it might've been silly but he hadn't been stood up to before. Probably something to do with being a Slytherin, here he wasn't a Slytherin, he was a stranger who had just made a really bad first impression.

Just as he had opened his mouth but the girl spoke first, "You must be Kai, Nate's little brother." She held out her hand, "Mary, Nathan's been living with us, til he can find his own place."

"What," Kai blinked in confusion, shaking her hand, "He's been sending us money this whole time, he can afford his own place."

For a moment the redheaded girl gave him a confused look but she quickly shook her head and turned to the house, calling over her shoulder, "You'll have to take it up with him then, he'll be home in a bit."

_Home?_ Had his brother actually gotten so close to this family that this was his _home_? His home should be with his mother, and Kai, not with strangers.

* * *

Somehow Jane had ended up at the Malfoy Manor for the first part of her Christmas break. And yes, she knew why. But it still amused her to no end. The blonde boy himself was positively _annoyed_ with the situation, Jane had scoffed at his request for her to join him as his date for his parents ball but he reminded her that she did owe him a favour.

Honestly, she thought he was going to use that favour for something that mattered even the slightest bit. But in the end she still stood beside him, he arm laced through his own as he chatted airily with other guests.

"I despise everyone here," he admitted under his breath once the last couple had left.

"Shocking," Jane retorted, "From the pure-blood supremacy you continuously spout I thought you would thrive in this environment."

Lucius glared and Jane couldn't help a smirk, she stepped towards the dance floor, offering him her hand. She was rewarded with a suspicious look as he warily accepted, fluidly leading them to the center of the floor, "You can dance?"

Jane scoffed, shooting her 'date' a pointed look as she stepped out, taking his hand lightly and stepping to the slightly faster beat of a strange song by a muggle named 'Elvis'. "I may enjoy the company of muggles and muggleborn, which is seen as a sin by _some_, but that doesn't entirely affect _dance lessons_, Lucius."

_"You look like an angel,"_

_"Look like an angel."_

_"Walk like an angel,"_

_"Walk like an angel."_

_"Talk like an angel,"_

_"Talk like an angel."_

_"But I got wise."_

Lucius smirked at his shorter dance partner, "_You're the devil in disguise_."

At that Jane laughed, "Well, I'd say it's a rather good disguise for the devil."

"It's practically your theme song," Lucius amended.

Jane spun on her toe, tapping her feet and spinning back into Lucius' arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "I'll choose to take that as a compliment." Before dancing away again, in response Lucius caught her hand and twirled her back towards himself, dipping her down and earning an eye-roll from the female Potter.

* * *

"So who are you?" At the raised eyebrow Kai cleared his throat, "I mean; to my brother."

"A friend," Mary replied easily, setting a cup of tea in front of her guest. "He talks about you quite a lot."

Kai couldn't resist the urge to snicker, "Am I living up to expectations?"

Mary raised an eyebrow, "Not entirely."

"Really."

"I do believe he said you were a tad bit more annoying in person."

"Annoying? Honestly?"

With a chuckle Mary sipped her tea, shaking her head she just smiled.

"Well he never wrote about you in his letters."

In response Mary tilted her head to the side, orange curls falling over her shoulder, "Are you trying to make me jealous?"

"No." Kai answered all too quickly.

The girl chuckled again, her eyes practically glowing, "Relax, no one's trying to take your brother from you."

"This is stupid," Lucius grumbled, not bothering to keep up his character if the only one that could hear him was Jane.

"I'm not an entertainer, Lucius," Jane replied, lifting her glass of punch in greeting to someone across the room, "I honestly have no idea why you needed me here."

"You make it slightly less idiotic."

The Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow, deadpan, "You say the sweetest things."

In return the Slytherin scoffed, "I'll have you know I could charm the skirt off any girl here."

"I would love to see that," Jane laughed, proposing a silent challenge with her smirk.

Without another word Lucius Malfoy strode to the closest lady, a brunette Jane vaguely remembered to be a year below them in Hogwarts. The Potter girl bit her lip as she watched Lucius transform into his usual charming self, whispering and talking softly to the girl who was quick to nod to the door. Out of amusement Jane set down her glass and left the room just after them, leaning against the wall just in Lucius' line of sight, and the moment he recognized her he pulled away from the clingy brunette, smirking at the black-haired girl. He spoke to the brunette again before the younger girl skipped off happily and he walked over to Jane, leaning on the wall beside her with a pointed look.

Jane shrugged, "You didn't charm her skirt off."

"Kinky," Lucius replied snorting.

Jane smiled in reply, "Well I do make things slightly less idiotic, don't I?"

"Maybe more idiotic," Malfoy retorted, "But also more entertaining."

"Grand." Potter answered, "I'm still bored."

* * *

Kai was just preparing to leave, albeit procrastinating just a bit. He had spoken to his brother and they had caught up but he had to return to Hogwarts, and he would be lying if he said he didn't want to see the red-headed girl one more time before he left.

"Why would you name a school after a pig?"

Apparently he had gotten his wish and he scoffed, "Why would you name a school at all, why have schools?"

"You're strange Kai Hatoshi."

"As are you Mary Sullivan."

"I have an odd request," Mary admitted, waiting for Kai to gesture for her to continue, "Write to me. I quite enjoy your company."

Kai didn't deny the grin that spread across his face.

* * *

Jane and Lucius had migrated to some small room in a corridor just off of the room the ball was being held in. Currently the fact that a sharp stone dug into the muscle of her shoulder was blatantly ignored in favour of focusing on the hands holding her in place. Jane wasn't sure she would have done anything even if she could, however if anyone asked she would blame her compliance on the fact there really wasn't anywhere to move in the tiny broom closet. The sound of clomping boots passing the wooden door, that brushed her right arm in the small space, was enough to send her eyes to those of the male in front of her. Immediately her breath caught in her throat, his hands were warm on her sides through the light fabric of her blouse; her own hands were pressed against the shirt on his chest. It wasn't clear who moved first, or if they moved together, for their lips to meet in a soft peck. Once there was an inch between their lips one of his hands had moved to her cheek and this time he pressed his lips against hers, not that she was complaining in the slightest. She could feel his lips part and she pushed him to take control of the kiss, her tongue darting out before she nibbled his bottom lip. She could feel his breath hitch before he pushed back. Pressing her back against the stones, Lucius' hands traveled up her back, one entwining itself with her hair as her own hands tugged on his shirt. Her lips moved from his and she kissed along his jaw, enjoying the fact that she could easily pull reactions from the blond in front of her.

When Jane was finally headed back to Mariland she traded smirks with Lucius, "So, don't write."

"Not in my worst nightmares," Lucius replied, kissing Jane once more before she slipped tossed down the flue powder.

**short chapter for my own procrastinating amusement i hope you liked it!**


	11. Chapter 11

**In The Present**

Sirius was dragging Jane by the hand fully aware that his companion was probably going over her life choices and regretting quite a few.

"Honestly, Black, do you see this as at all wise?"

Reaching the end of the Quidditch field Sirius turned to face the slightly shorter female, "Honestly, Potter, have I ever cared about what's wise?"

"I do suppose not," Jane grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest, "What are we even doing out here?"

"Setting a prank," Sirius repeated for the upteenth time, his tone earning an eye-roll from the girl.

"No shite," she muttered, gathering all of Sirius' attention in less than a second as he was suddenly staring her down; eyes wide and mouth slowly splitting into a grin.

"Jane Potter," he began, "Did I just hear you utter a _curse word_?"

"Tch," the Ravenclaw shook her head, her expression incredulous, "You're really not that funny, Black."

"Padfoot," Sirius corrected before adding, "And I like to think I'm quite hilarious."

"What?"

"Well most of my jokes—"

"No," Jane waved her hand dismissively, "Why did you say 'padfoot'?"

Sirius returned her confused expression before beginning to set up the prank he had oh-so-carefully planned, "Padfoot, Love, it's what my friends call me."

With a scoff Jane joined him on the field, aiding in arranging the firecrackers, her reasoning was that if they both worked it would be done faster, if you have a single thought that she had instinctively moved closer to him you should banish it from your mind we haven't gotten that far in the story yet. "And since when would you consider us friends?"

With a predatory grin Sirius shot back, "Would you consider us _more_ than friends?"

"Oh for the love of—" Jane rolled her eyes, returning to the prank at hand as she set out the last of the firecrackers. However when she turned back Sirius was significantly closer than he had been a moment ago, and his eyes had an unmistakable gleam in them as he grinned.

"Call me Padfoot," He repeated.

"No."

He stepped closer, into her personal space, Jane's pride refusing to allow her to step back, and wrapped strong arms around her before leaning down to rest his forehead against Jane's. "Come on."

"Not happening," Jane replied, seemingly unfazed as her breath fanned across the boy's jaw.

Though as 'unfazed' as both parties seemed, they were both practiced in hiding their true emotions, hence why neither could tell how affected the other truly was. "Padfoot," Sirius repeated, his fingers playing with Jane's braid.

"Give up," Jane returned, lifting one of her own hands to tangle it in Sirius' own loose hair.

"Not until you say it, Love," Sirius muttered, his voice dropping low and quiet, unknowingly causing a hitch in Jane's breathing. He refused to even admit to himself that the stuttering of his heart was more than just a health problem to get checked out. Jane's other hand had moved to his hip and her fingers slipped just a bit lower before she regained her hold and lifted herself onto her toes to whisper in his ear,

"Bite me."

"Don't tempt me," Sirius smirked, eliciting a small laugh from the girl.

"If I do remember correctly," Jane replied, keeping her own voice rather quiet, "We did have a time limit coming out here."

She dropped back down to her heels, Sirius not quite getting what she was hinting at as she detangled herself from him.

It wasn't til she was half-way to the building that Sirius remembered the original reason they had gone out to the Quidditch Field and he quickly ran after her. Both of them pausing just inside to watch the Gryffindor team exit the changing rooms for a late night practice, only for a wrong step to set off a line of firecrackers. The excitement from that setting off each of the firecrackers in quick succession, causing both Jane and Sirius to laugh.

A while later they were sitting in the hallway studying.

…

More accurately Jane attempted to study while Sirius continued to bug her into calling him 'Padfoot'. The fact that it had gone on this long was the only thing sticking Jane's pride into not saying it.

"Come on," Sirius groaned, pouting as he lay on his stomach staring up at Jane, though the pout did make Jane chuckle, "Just say it, just once."

Finally she put down the book, watching him with a look that most of the school had dubbed the 'Ravenclaw Stare'. But it was basically just inquisitive. "Why is this so important to you?"

At that even Sirius was confused, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was just that she refused to say it, or, "You always call me 'Black'."

"It is your last name," Jane pointed out, noticing the slight pink colouring that had risen to Sirius' neck and jaw.

"Yeah, well," Sirius shrugged, unsure how to continue, "I'd rather it not be." His teeth dug into the flesh of his cheek, his eyes focused on the floor, he didn't like talking about his family, much less being reminded that he was related to them.

Instead of any ridicule that he had been expecting Jane's voice was soft when she answered, though she wasn't looking at him, "We can't change facts, Sirius." When she looked to him he let their eyes meet, and Jane offered him a sad smile, "Just how they affect us."

"Do you ever talk about it?"

Jane's lips slipped into a smirk though the sadness stayed in her eyes, "Do you?"

"Touché," Sirius admitted quietly.

"Do you want to?"

"Pardon," Sirius asked, raising his eyes to the signature blue eyes of Jane.

"Talk about it," she clarified, swallowing and giving a shrug, "I mean, if you wanted to tell someone…"

"Would you?" Sirius replied, "I mean, if I told you, would you tell me what happened?" Jane's gaze darted away and she worried her lip before nodding slightly. "My parents were—_are _pureblood elitists. When I was sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin I defied tradition. They weren't impressed," Sirius cleared his throat, refusing to look at Jane, and casting a silencing charm around them before he continued, "They… they tried to _purify_ the _bloodtraitor_ out of me. Father thought he could beat my traits away, make me a respectable pureblood son," Sirius scoffed, smirking, "Guess that didn't really work. They always preferred Regulus, he's a better son than me."

"He's also kind of a pompous ass," Jane muttered, earning a bit of a snicker from the boy next to her.

"Last year I ran away," he added, "I actually live with you and James now, most of the time."

Jane nodded, "I know."

"You do?"

Turning to Sirius Jane rolled her eyes, "Did you think you could keep something like that a secret, Padfoot?"

A grin split on Sirius' face, "You called me Padfoot."

"Don't let it get to your head," Jane muttered.

"Your turn."

"Right," Jane sighed, leaning her head back against the wall, "I'm not really sure where to start."

"Well typically when telling a story you would start at the beginning," Sirius snarked, earning a light smack from the girl beside him.

"Just keep the silencing charms up."

_"George Sullivan," the redhaired boy introduced, vaguely gesturing to the group behind him, "These are my siblings… Mostly."_

_"Jane Potter," Jane replied, crossing her arms over her chest, "Mostly?"_

_"Mostly," George replied snarkily, not actually answering the unasked question._

_"Ah highly suggest ignoring 'im at all times," another girl cut in, her appearance much like the boy's, "Mary Sullivan. Ya must be the exchange student, you're in our year."_

"When I said the beginning I didn't mean that far back," Sirius cut in, causing Jane to roll her eyes.

"Fine, what you want to know is what happened, yes?"

"Yes."

Jane watched Sirius for a moment before she shrugged, "I watched my best friends die, and then I attended their funeral with the last living member of their family. I spent three years with that family; and then I watched them all die."

**well shit, plot**

**so i'm gonna take this chance to apologize because I won't be updating for a bit as I have mid-terms in two weeks and I really need to catch up on all my school work. I love all the input and thank you to everyone who's been reviewing it's kind of like my life blood or something. So if you have any requests or thoughts and you get them in before I finish a chapter I'll do my best to include them. Honestly though this was supposed to be light-hearted and funny and wow that's not happening but yeah.. so basically you know what happened. i'm gonna stop writing now and the next chapter will have a flashback of what actually happened probably**


	12. Chapter 12

**We should all thank _inlovewithguysinbooks_ for the update cause she reminded me i have something to do**

**_Mariland, The Year Before_**

George laughed, Jane rolled her eyes. All the same she snuggled back to his side, resting her cheek on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"God, how are ye t'o nah' married?" Leonard questioned, making Jane smile, she knew George likely flipped off his older brother.

"Fa' that ta happen," Mary replied in place of the couple, "Jane would have ta actually inform her family of this darling relationship."

"And when do you plan on introducing the person to whom you continuously send love letters to?" Jane replied, not bothering to lift her head or open her eyes. George made a good pillow.

A really good pillow as it turned out, a few hours later George was shaking her awake. "Jane, _Jane_," his voice was urgent and Jane urged herself to sit up and pay attention, "Jane, Sweetie, you need to get up."

"George?" Jane blinked the sleep out of her eyes, accepting George's hands as he pulled her to stand, "Darling, what's going on?"

"Death eaters, Raven," George informed her, terror plain in his eyes, his voice caught in his throat and his eyes watered, "They—they, they killed Ma and Papa. Peter, Killian, Leo, they're all dead and the twins and the others; they're holding them off the best they can."

"Then we need to help them!"

"No!" Mary had joined them, bloodied and bruised, "They want _ye_, Jane."

They words stuck but they didn't stick in, only a scream had Jane moving again, letting George pull her along, out the back door with Mary following close behind them. Quickly they ran into the woods, the sounds of fighting following soon behind them. Jane refused to look back, her Ravenclaw nature taking over as she took the lead, turning off the beaten path and holding back heavy branches for George and Mary to pass. Together they dashed towards the other end of the forest, the plan that had formed in Jane's mind was destroyed the moment the hooded figure appeared in front of them. The three teens froze in their spots.

"Give us Jane Potter," the man demanded, sending a shiver down Jane's spine.

It was an odd sensation for her; to not know what to do. But George recovered much faster, "No."

And with a flash of light George had fallen limp at her feet. Mary's scream echoing in Jane's mind as it would for years to follow, but the female Potter grabbed Mary's arm tugging her into a run.

In the end they had hidden in a dilapidated house, frozen and mourning. They had lost a family, and Mary's fingernails dug into Jane's palm as they watched the shadows shift and move away. Jane offered her friend the only comfort she could by pulling her close and letting her cry. They couldn't fight. Jane had gone over all the logistics, the possibilities, every fact she had. Perhaps if she was a Gryffindor she would have only had her bravery to guide her into the middle of the mess, had she been a Hufflepuff she would have been fighting side-by-side with the family she could have called her own. But she was there, a Ravenclaw thinking over the options, and she knew if she and Mary were to leave their hiding spot they would be dead—well, Mary would be dead. Merlin knows what would happen to Jane.

When the sun finally shone the next morning Jane stood, having Mary wait while she took in what happened. Alone Jane had walked through the forest, the Death Eaters were gone, she returned to the house. Mister and Miss Sullivan… Killian, Leonardo, everyone George had mentioned the night before, they were dead. But all the others, they just weren't there only blood.

"Ah can't feel them."

Jane spun on her heel, a wave of relief conflicting with worry as she saw Mary standing there, "I told you to wait for me."

Mary shrugged, her eyes blank, "Ah had ta see for myself." She met Jane's eyes, "My family, we could always feel each other's life force, my parents were wiccan they made sure we were all very connected to the spirit. We all practiced a bit of Wicca, George was the best at it. I can't feel their life forces anymore, Jane."

**Hogwarts, The Present**

Jane retold the story to Sirius, leaving out her relationship with George, she felt no need to include it. "It was my fault." Finally Jane met Sirius' eyes again, "They're dead and it was my fault."

Sirius had listened quietly, but now he shook his head, moving forward to wrap the girl in a hug.

Her next words made him laugh despite the situation, "I'm sorry you had to deal with your family alone."

Sirius shook his head, "I'm sorry they died."

With something between a laugh and a cough Jane looked up to meet his eyes again, "So, I guess we're even now?"

"Yeah," Sirius laughed, ignoring the tears in Jane's eyes, "I guess we are."

**Mariland, The Year Before**

Mary's nails dug into Jane's skin but she refused to flinch as the girl held tightly to her hand. They were dressed in black. A few others stood near, but not too close as to not disturb the ladies.

"They're the ones who died," Mary murmured, "So why do I feel like we're the ones meant to suffer?"

Jane didn't answer. There was nothing she could say.

At the moment all she could do was stand beside her friend and do her best to offer comfort. Hating that she herself needed comfort as well.

"I'm going to live with Hatoshi in Australia."

Jane was expecting that, she nodded, Mary had been close with the boy they had housed, it made sense that she would live with him. Jane would return to Hogwarts once her year was over. But she would spend the rest of the term in Mariland... the haunting reminders of the family she called her own...

Finally Mary let go of her hand to kneel between the graves' of her parents. Jane averted her gaze only to have it land on the stone marked for George. Somehow she couldn't seem to accept it. The impact had yet to hit her truly.

In a way she knew once she accepted the fact he was gone, the fact that _they were all gone,_ she would have to get over it and she wasn't ready for that.

Instead she knelt beside the grave of the first boy she had loved and laid a single flower on the fresh dirt. They hadn't found his body. She wished that meant there was hope, but she knew better.

"I don't want to be alone here, George. You're not here and-" Jane's voice was quiet enough to keep her words between herself and the grave beside her, her tears welled in her eyes and choked up her words, "And why did you have to be so damned _brave_, you idiot? I would've gone with them-, I would have gone, if it meant you were still alive." She smacked the stone with the palm of her hand. Nothing happened.

She didn't want to be alone but that didn't change the fact that she was.

Her gaze went to Mary. Even with her friend, truly they were both alone now. Mary would never share her family's passing with another. Jane would never share her pain. And the two would not stay together.

For once in her life Jane let herself cry.


	13. Chapter 13

Jane's heart nearly stopped in her chest when she realized how far Sirius was about to fall, standing and crying out seemed completely out of her control but she wasn't alone. Nearly the entire stands were on their feet for some reason or another. It was barley the last second when James caught his best friend, likely making some snarky comment about a damsel in distress, Jane sat back down, letting her heart fall from her throat back into her chest.

As she did so an amused Lily caught her eye and she scowled. She did not have a crush on Sirius Black.

They had been having the same argument for weeks. Jane was positive their other friends were placing bets on which couple would get together first and she carefully omitted that she and Sirius had already kissed so that part of the betting was out.

It was the last days before they went home for Winter Break. Jane was excited to see Nonna again, the little house elf always seemed to lift her spirits. With her parents having cancelled long before she may need it, especially if Sirius was going to be staying with them this year.

* * *

Sirius' thoughts were occupied in full by a certain Ravenclaw with sharp eyes and a sharper wit. Since the whole 'let's-bond-by-telling-our-sad-tales' gig they had been closer, and he had grinned blatantly as James slowly worked his way back into Jane's everyday life. They were truly interesting siblings, either loving with every fibre of their beings or hating with every inch of their souls. James was his best mate, and with Jane being his—whatever they were now, he wanted them to get along.

"Black."

Sirius turned from the window to acknowledge whoever spoke and he furrowed his brow at the sight of the very person occupying his thoughts walking towards him. He didn't get a word in before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. Even in his confusion Sirius pressed a hand to her back and returned the gesture.

When she pulled herself away and cleared her throat Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Want to tell me what that was about, Love?"

"No."

At her sharp reply Sirius smirked, "Were you _worried_ about me, Love?"

She glared. "No."

"I can tell when you're lying."

"You can not," Jane scoffed, making Sirius grin.

"True, now could you tell me what's wrong?"

"You fell off your broom way above the castle," Jane pointed out, huffing and flicking her braid across her shoulder, "I'm just glad I didn't have to help clean your guts off the field."

Sirius' grin widened, "You _were_ worried about me!"

Jane scowled, "I was _not_!"

"Were too!"

"Was not!"

"You were."

"I wasn't!"

"Were!"

"Wasn't!"

"Were!"

"Was not!"

"You were. But I never thought I'd see the day Jane Potter would be involved in a 'yes/no' argument."

"You are terrible, Sirius Black," Jane huffed, crossing her arms across her chest as a small smile slipped across her lips.

"You just say that 'cause you love me," Sirius teased, swinging his arm around Jane's shoulders and beginning to walk. The only response he got was a scoff and he grinned. Jane really was taking up too many of his thoughts. He couldn't exactly talk to anyone about it though, telling his best mate that he might have a tiny crush on said best mate's sister? Not the brightest idea. "The train is leaving soon, are you ready?"

"To go home?" Jane countered, rolling her eyes, "I think I can appreciate it. Even if _you're_ going to be living under the same roof."

"Ouch," the teen feigned hurt, "My heart."

With another roll of her eyes Jane bumped her hip into his.

* * *

Jane had been walking down the aisles of the train when she was pulled into a car, startled she spun to meet Lucius. Immediately she smacked the lapel of his jacket, "Dammit, Malfoy! You nearly gave me a heartattack!"

He grunted something that cause Jane to narrow her eyes and ask him to repeat, "Sorry." He shrugged uncomfortably and leaned against the door, "I didn't want to talk to you in front of your brother."

Jane rolled her eyes, "You love talking to me in front of my brother, it drives him up the wall and you find it hilarious. Try again."

"I have to ask you a favour," Lucius admitted, as though it physically pained him, and Jane's eyebrow shot up.

"I no longer owe you."

"That's why it would be a _favour_, Potter," the platinum blonde muttered. "I need you to convince Black and your brother to come to my mother's Winter Ball."

At this Jane outright laughed, causing Malfoy's scowl to deepen. "Oh dear, you're actually _serious?_" At the lack of being contradicted Jane rolled her shoulders and met ice-blue eyes, "Why in the world would I do that?"

The way Lucius Malfoy ground his jaw made Jane wonder if perhaps this conversation _actually_ caused him physical pain. "I'll owe you a favour."

"That's it? You'll just owe me?"

"What more do you want, woman?!"

"Nothing," Jane admitted with a smirk, "Just ensuring the terms." With that she pecked his lips and slipped past him to stand in the aisle, "Send someone by when you need us. I'm sure you know where the Potter house is."

* * *

"Kai!"

The boy in question turned at his name to see a very familiar face that he would never admit he missed. She still wrote but it had been so long since he had seen her and—"Mary?"

"Your brother and I heard you were planning to stay here for the break," she admitted, her voice didn't have its memorable accent anymore and Kai refused to comment, "So we thought we would come to surprise you."

"Nathan's here too?"

"Right behind you little brother," was the only warning he got before he was lifted up and thrown over his brother's shoulder.

"I really hope you don't mind," Mary cut in, waving a hand next to her as another person walked up, "I brought my brother too."

**so this is kind of just a 'hey im not dead' chapter, i was debating finishing it because 'what happened at mariland' has been sorted but i want to develop sirius/jane relationship a bit more so i'm gonna do one more little arc  
I'm sorry for my reeeeeeallly long absence, I've got most of my life sorted now so updates should be quicker? Hopefully! I love you guys! Tell me what you're thinking? **


	14. Chapter 14

She was occupying too many of his thoughts and being in a house with both Jane and James was going to drive him mad. There has to be a rule somewhere about dating your best mate's sister, and as Sirius repeatedly reminded himself, that was exactly why he had to stop hitting on Jane… and kissing her… basically the whole thing they had going on needed to stop especially since—

"You kissed _Lucius Malfoy?_"

Sirius snorted as he watched Jane pause for a moment to give her brother a pointed look. "Yes James. Do try and keep up. As I said, I owe him a favour so I agreed to go to his mother's Winter Ball. Will you be coming with me, or not?"

The blatant jealousy stirring in Sirius' stomach had him answering for both himself and James, "'Course we're coming. Can't have that no good Slytherin trying anything with you, can we Prongs?"

James meanwhile just stared at his sister, murmuring quietly to himself before standing from the couch and walking into the next room.

"Do you think I broke him?"

"Quite possible," Sirius noted with a raised eyebrow, "Maybe we should talk about Lily?"

"I'm not sure that would really help," Jane murmured, quietly laughing at her brother's expression. "Perhaps we should leave him be for a few minutes?"

Sirius nodded quickly before following a laughing Jane down the hall. He managed to grab Jane's hand just before she closed the door to her room, "We need to—I mean, I need to talk…to you?"

In typical Potter fashion Jane rolled her eyes, "Is that a question or a statement, Black?" She let out a huff of laughter before indicating her room with a nod, "Come in."

Sirius wasn't expecting her to take his hand and close the door behind them, he had never accounted for any change in her behaviour but a blind man could tell that she was more comfortable in her home. It felt like all of Sirius' confidence had left him for her, but all the same he was Sirius Black and he hadn't gotten to this point in his life without being able to tell a lie. "I'm worried about James."

"He's having a fit," Jane laughed, "Honestly, he's practically more invested in my relationships than I am."

"And our relationship?" Sirius watched as Jane's features dropped from amused in under a second, but he couldn't stop there. "Would he be more invested in us? He's my best mate, Jane—"

"And he's my brother."

"—I can't do this to him. I can't keep lying to him."

"Then don't!" Jane shook her head, throwing her arms in the air, "Don't lie to him. Tell him we snogged, he wouldn't care—"

"He wouldn't care? Jane, are you even hearing yourself," Sirius was practically shouting, "You're his sister! He's having a fit because you were snogging with a _Slytherin_, but I'm his best mate! He would hate me if he found out!"

"Padfoot!" Jane's exclamation was enough to break through his panic, he hadn't even noticed how close she had gotten until her hand was on his cheek as her fingers brushed stray hairs behind his ear. Her expression had softened considerably and it made Sirius want to erase the entire conversation, of course she wouldn't let him break it off completely without a word. "If you're this worried about it then we'll take a break, we can be friends, yeah? It's going to be fine; tell James, don't tell James. Either way it'll be alright."

That was likely better than anything Sirius could've thought of. Before he could change his mind and just go kiss her, before she could say anything else he was leaving the room with a nod. Walking straight into James.

Later that night Jane straightened her dress, standing between James and Sirius as the entered the extravagant ballroom belonging to the house of Malfoy. Her brother hadn't heard any of the conversation between herself and Sirius but he was not so dense as to miss the tension that lay between them. Still she refused to acknowledge her own underlying feelings.

It was not a surprise for Lucius to appear so suddenly in front of the trio but all the same Jane felt both the boys stiffen at her sides, in return she rolled her eyes. Lucius simply smirked, not sparing a glance to her company as her offered her his arm, "Jane, delighted you could make it."

"Or deny the house of Malfoy," Jane huffed, resting her hand in the crook of his arm, "I wouldn't dream of it. Dance with me, would you?"

Without another word he led her to the middle of the floor, his hand on her hip as she draped her arm over his shoulders, they moved slowly with the music but it wasn't long before one of them would speak. Lucius leant down to speak near her ear and Jane was well aware that the intimate gesture was more for the audience then her. "Care to explain why your brother and his puppy are still staring at me as if they'd like nothing better than to rip off my head?"

Jane returned the gesture effortlessly, leaning up so her lips brushed his neck. "Perhaps because they would like nothing more than to rip off your head." His chuckle fanned his breath across her neck in reply and Jane couldn't help but smile. Things were hardly ever as simple as they were when teasing Lucius Malfoy. "It may also have something to do with their new knowledge of our kiss, but who knows how their minds work."

"I say we test your theory."

"Oh?" The Ravenclaw pulled back enough to meet his eyes, "How do you suppose we do that?"

It took less than a minute for Lucius to guide Jane out of the ballroom, just as quickly he pressed her back against a stone wall and kissed her. Before anything else could happen Lucius pulled back with a smirk to the sound of someone clearing their throat, only for the observer to be none other than Narcissa Black.

"Best of luck with that," Jane commented, turning on her heel and meeting Sirius' eyes. Her heart dropped to her stomach from the look in his eyes, but just behind him stood her perturbed looking brother so she kept walking.

Right, friends.

_Despite what had been said they did write to each other. Sometimes as simple as a letter being sent across the room to share a joke, sometimes as long as a detailed sharing of hardships. Jane sat against a tree as her owl approached her, the letter tied to its leg a stark contrast to its dark feathers. She smiled as she recognized Malfoy's elegant script._

_Addressing The Only Good Potter,  
Your brother is a downright git, as I'm sure many people have told you. He and his bloody cronies spelled the door to the Slytherin Common Room so that no one can get out. Sadly I was practicing that song on the piano and now cannot leave, to make matters worse Narcissa is here.  
She wishes for me to save her.  
I wish for her to leave me alone.  
Honestly, if my parents weren't so adamant about us being wed I'd hex her myself. I know what you're thinking now, but do try your best not to comment, Potter. Unlike some I wish to live up to my parents legacy.  
Lucius Malfoy, Terribly Annoyed_

Maxima Malfoy's Winter Ball was generally a party that lasted for a few days, and while the adults continued to gossip on the third day their children often went to another room in the manor. Jane wasn't the least bit surprised when Lucius declared his invitation to the trio extended until his mother announced the ball to be over. Nothing on the first day had truly hinted as to why Lucius had wanted two out of four of the Marauders to attend, especially enough to suck it up and ask Jane to bring them.

It wasn't until Jane found the group standing off in a hidden corridor that she understood. A fairly large group of Slytherins stood in a semi-circle around Severus Snape as he pointed his wand at James and Sirius. From the looks on their faces Jane could tell that they had been hexed to the spot, it wasn't hard to put two-and-two together when Malfoy stood just behind Severus' shoulder.

His taunting was loud enough for her to hear, "Do it, Sev. What have they ever done for you? What have they always done _to_ you? Or are you going to prove you're just as spineless as they say."

Somehow that broke Jane from her trance as she stormed forward, putting herself between the group and the boys. "Enough." Her hand was on her wand but she kept it at her hip, determined to stay in a defensive position while in someone else's home, all the same she glared to kill.

"Move, Jane," Lucius scowled as he spoke, "This has nothing to do with you."

"This has _everything_ to do with me. You had me bring them here for _this?_" The Ravenclaw rolled her shoulders and stood tall, "You're damn idiotic if you think I'm going to let you touch my brother."

"I have to do it," Severus insisted, Jane's gaze snapping to the boy, "It's the only way to prove my alleigen—"

"Shut up, Snape," one of the others snapped, stepping forward threateningly, "I take care of the girl then we can move on, how 'bout."

"No," Lucius snapped, turning his glare on the boy long enough for the other to sink back in submission. He looked to Jane again and raised an eyebrow, "If you say we can't hurt your brother then what of the blood traitor?"

Behind her Jane could almost sense the fear from Sirius as she paused, "Sirius Black has tormented most of the school's population," her top lip lifted in a sneer, "Yet he will always be a better person than someone like _you_." Her arms crossed over her chest and she met Severus' eyes, "Besides, you hate the both of them so what would that prove? You truly want to show Lucius and whoever else that you're worthy you'll hex me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Potter," Lucius said, a façade of annoyance in full effect. Perhaps if they hadn't written to each other so often she might believe it, as it was she saw the worry in his eyes. He wouldn't have confided in her as he did if he didn't care for her, they both knew that.

But now they both knew she was testing him, and there was no right answer. "Ridiculous, Lucius? I'm just the blood traitor he is."

In the end it wasn't truly his decision. The hex on her brother and Sirius seemed to begin to wear off just as Severus lifted his wand and the shouts seemed to all come at the same time. Just as James and Sirius yelled her name Severus slashed his wand down with a shout, "_Sectumsempra._"

An unwanted scream ripped itself from her throat at the feeling of her skin splitting across her abdomen, blood soaking through the front of her dress before she even hit the floor.


	15. Chapter 15

Sirius didn't even go for his wand, opting instead to slam his fist into the side of Malfoy's face with enough force to cause the blonde to stumble. James dropped to kneel beside his sister, he shed his suit jacket to press it against the wounds. Severus turned heel to run only for Sirius to slam him against a wall.

Jane focused on her surroundings, pretending there wasn't blood rushing up her throat, pretending her vision wasn't going spotty. The last thing she registered was Lucius and Sirius joining her brother in hovering above her.

Sirius had a brief sense of déjà vu, sitting beside Jane's hospital bed. Madame Pomfrey had assured them that Jane would wake up within the day but she had already been unconscious almost twelve hours. He and James had brought her back to Hogwarts as soon as the Malfoy's house elf tentatively bandaged the bleeding wound, even the elf's magic hadn't healed it. A small while ago Sirius had convinced James to rest on a spare bed.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," a voice croaked and Sirius' attention snapped to the girl on the bed. Her eyes were half-open, she blinked a few times before giving him a small smile. "You look bloody awful."

Sirius scoffed, an unstoppable grin spreading across his face. "Says the girl in the hospital bed."

"Says the boy with the bloody knuckles," Jane laughed, a cough taking over quickly but not enough to make the light leave her eyes. Light leave her eyes? Gods, Sirius was getting poetic. "Couldn't go an hour without me so you punched a wall?"

"I mean," Sirius shrugged, eyes darting over to the recently vacated chair Lucius had been taking up, "Malfoy might have a thick head but I wouldn't really call him a wall, at least walls serve purpose."

Jane's eyes widened almost comically, "You can't be serious."

"I'm almost certain I'm the only Sirius you'll ever know."

"Brat."

Sirius didn't miss the affectionate tone, or the soft smile as she shook her head. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, "Rest."

The second time Jane woke she spoke with her brother for a few moments before persuading him to go eat.

When Jane woke for the third time she was alone save for the injured Malfoy who had once again taken up the space of the chair next to her cot.

"I was doing it for you."

Jane sighed and closed her eyes again, "The bloody hell does that mean?"

"It means I was _doing it for you_. Your brother wouldn't have been hurt, I knew given the choice Severus would attack Sirius over James. With Sirius there would be no repercussions, Severus knew no matter what Lily said; she cares for James. She would never have forgiven him. Sirius Black is a filthy blood traitor—"

"You _initiated _Severus? With my brother and his best friend," Jane spoke incredulously, sitting upright and barely wincing when the bandages across her abdomen rubbed against the cut. "And you think you were doing it _for me? _Are you bloody mad-!"

"He abandoned his family! He would just have done the same to you!"

"—so you thought what? 'Alright let's just kill the bloke'?"

"—You deserved better, had it all gone to plan you would've seen that. All he will ever be is a filthy blood traitor! You need someone worthy of you! To take care of you! I could do that, Jane, not him, me! I could—"

The slap of her hand against his face was enough to cut him off and even if it hadn't been her glare would've done the job. When she finally spoke it was with a deathly calm voice. "You have no place telling me what I need, Lucius Malfoy. He's a blood traitor in the eyes of pureblood bigots, in my eyes he will always be someone to care for. I don't care what you think of him, from now on you stay the hell away from Sirius Black. You stay the hell away from the Marauders. You stay the hell away from my friends. And you stay the _bloody_ hell away from me."

Lucius shook his head, "I care for you, Jane Potter."

"And I don't care. Leave."

"Jane—"

"Leave, Lucius Malfoy, or I swear every Death Eater in this school will know that you yourself are a blood traitor."

"I am no such thin—"

"Me. I am a blood traitor, your relations with me have sullied your status. We shagged, Malfoy, how do you think your darling Dark Lord would take that?"

"You wouldn't."

"We both know very well that I'd be happy to."

Straightening his shoulders and standing with an air of confidence that Jane knew was forced, he left. Immediately she let herself fall back onto the bed, all energy leaving her body with a sigh.

_Rain tapped against the window with a soft pitter-patter, a soft downfall that was far from a storm. Still, Jane pulled the blanket over her head and curled in on herself. Through the thin cotton of the hospital sheet the approaching figure was blatantly visible, or would be if Jane had her eyes open, the weight on the bed shifted as someone dropped to sit beside Jane's curled up form. Barely a moment had passed before Jane was being shifted so that her head could rest in George's lap, the blanket moved below her chin as George smiled down at her. _

_"Ye say ye were a 'Ravenclaw' but ye don't seem all too smart, ending up in Medical Ward so often."_

_"Intelligence, wisdom," Jane closed her eyes, leaning into George, "Those are only the calling card traits of Ravenclaw. Like bravery is to Gryffindor, or as cunning is to Slytherin, or loyalty is to Hufflepuff. But each of the houses are so much more. Ravenclaw is for the creative, the wise, the witty, for the accepting, the curious."_

_"So," George brushed his hand through Jane's loose black hair, "Ye 'Ravenclaws' do stupid thing because; why not?"_

_With a light laugh Jane shook her head, "I fell off my broom, George, I didn't jump out a window."_

_"Whatever ye say, Raven."_

Jane wandered the halls with her brother's sweater pulled tight around her shoulders, she stopped at a window to gaze at the full moon. There was little she didn't know about her brother and his friends; they would be at the shrieking shack now, keeping Remus from hurting anyone, or himself. Only so many moons could pass before she had run out after her brother to see what the hype was about, it had been an interesting endeavour. The Ravenclaw had always liked watching the moon, and the stars, glow in the black of the night.

Mariland, or home, or Hogwarts, it was one thing that never changed and she loved it.

The footsteps of someone approaching echoed in the empty halls and Jane turned her head to look when they stopped abruptly—

Red hair and green eyes were Weasley traits, that was the first thing she could think, everyone knew red hair and green eyes were Weasley traits.

But his hair was such a light red that in the dim lighting of Hogwarts halls it could pass as blond. She thought for a moment if she focused on his hair long enough she could pretend he was someone else but…

His eyes were captivating in their brightness, as they always had been, and Jane was frozen staring at him.

Tentatively he smiled, "Hey, Raven."

**Alrighty babes, only a few chapters more probably. this story has escaped me but i'm doing my best to get it to the finish, i'm gonna try a few more hp fics tho because I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS, so feel free to pm me plot bunnies, prompts, characters, ships, whatever you want and i'll check it out for another fic. I've had a great time with this one though, and I really hope you've all enjoyed it too!**


End file.
